Artwork
Madame Amédée (Woman with Cigarette)
Madame Amédée (Woman with Cigarette) is an oil painting by Amedeo Modigliani. It dates from 1918 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. Created in 1918, this oil on canvas depicts a seated woman rendered in Modigliani’s distinctive elongated style.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:upper left: modigliani
About this work
Technique & Style
Classified as a portrait, the piece utilizes standard painterly materials of the period, specifically oil pigments applied to a woven fabric support.
Executed in 1918, this portrait is an oil painting on canvas. The work measures 100.3 cm in height and 64.8 cm in width. Classified as a portrait, the piece utilizes standard painterly materials of the period, specifically oil pigments applied to a woven fabric support.
The composition focuses on the figure of Madame Amédée, depicted with a cigarette, adhering to the genre conventions of portraiture established by the artist during his mature period.
History & Provenance
Painted in 1918, this oil on canvas portrait entered the art market through the Kunding Collection in Geneva, followed by ownership by the Falk Collection, also in Geneva. The work subsequently passed through the dealer Georges Moos before being sold in Berlin in 1925 to the Parisian dealer Etienne Bignou. While one catalog raisonné suggests an intermediate owner, Jacques Dubourg, this claim lacks corroboration from the Bignou Gallery archives, which list the sequence as Kunding, Falk, Bignou, and then Chester Dale.
On May 3, 1927, Bignou sold the painting to Chester Dale of New York. Dale retained the work until his death in 1962, after which it was bequeathed to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in 1963.
Madame Amédée (Woman with Cigarette) is housed at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Its inventory number is 1963.10.12. The work entered the collection via Chester Dale's bequest in 1963. It was previously owned by Etienne Bignou, who acquired it on 3 May 1927, and before that by the Kunding and Falk collections in Geneva.
Context
Amedeo Modigliani painted Madame Amédée (Woman with Cigarette) in 1918, an oil on canvas portrait that entered the National Gallery of Art through the bequest of Chester Dale in 1963 [1]. The work was previously owned by Kunding and Falk of Geneva before passing through the Berlin dealer Etienne Bignou and finally to Dale in May 1927 [1]. Modigliani's output of nudes and portraits from this period is often discussed in relation to his broader modernist practice and the reception of his elongated figures within early twentieth-century portraiture [1].
Scholars have examined how the painting's composition and psychological intensity reflect both his personal circumstances and the evolving market for avant-garde art in post‑World War I Europe [1].
Overview
Created in 1918, this oil on canvas depicts a seated woman rendered in Modigliani’s distinctive elongated style. The portrait presents a pale complexion, rosy cheeks, and a subtle smile, while the subject’s dark hair is pulled back and a ring adorns her left hand. The work resides in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
Subject & Meaning
The sitter, identified as Madame Amédée, is portrayed with a cigarette, a motif that hints at contemporary attitudes toward femininity and modernity. Her black dress and gold earrings, together with the relaxed pose of a bent left arm, convey a sense of poised confidence, reflecting the artist’s interest in the psychological presence of his models.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (US: ; Italian: ; 12 July 1884 – 24 January 1920) was an Italian painter and sculptor of the École de Paris who worked mainly in France.
