1910/2006
Bronze, 227 x 75 x 85 cm
Ed: EA IV/IV
Tête de cariatide is a remarkable bronze head study and one of the most original works of its period. Like many of his contemporaries, such as Picasso, Matisse, Brâncuşi and others, Modigliani was searching for inspiration from beyond Europe. In the 1880s, during the period of the “Scramble for Africa” led by colonial powers, Baule masks from Côte d’Ivoire began arriving in Paris, becoming a source of inspiration for the artist. At the time, Côte d’Ivoire was under French control, and such objects were readily available at Parisian flea markets and the Trocadéro Ethnographic Museum.
Tête de cariatide is a remarkable bronze head study and one of the most original works of its period. Modigliani carved the sculpture directly in wood and it was then cast in bronze. You can see the pattern of the woodgrain in the cast. For Modigliani, direct carving made an important link with Baule culture; there was a consanguinity of approach with the African carvers themselves. If you look at original Baule masks, there seems to be a greatly empathetic approach to the way Modigliani created the sculptural form of Tête de cariatide.
The sculpture presented in the exhibition is one of eight editions in this series. The other editions can be found in public collections around the world, including in Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and in the square in front of the Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza church in Rome.
Vivienne Lawes, Art Historian at Sotheby’s Institute of Art.
Amedeo Modigliani (1884–1920) is one of the most esteemed and recognizable artists in history. He trained in Florence and Venice before relocating to Paris in 1906, where he became part of the cosmopolitan avant-garde known as the École de Paris. Though closely associated with artists such as Pablo Picasso and Constantin Brâncuși, Modigliani maintained an independent artistic voice. Like many early 20th-century modernists, he was captivated by non-European art. At the Musée d’Ethnographie du Trocadéro and colonial exhibitions, he encountered African and Oceanic sculptures that deeply shaped his formal vocabulary. Their abstracted, symbolic vision of the human figure—so different from academic realism—offered him a new expressive language grounded in spiritual essence rather than surface likeness.
Between 1909 and 1914, Modigliani created around 25 sculptures before being forced to abandon the medium due to health issues exacerbated by the physical demands of carving. His only lifetime solo exhibition, at Galerie Berthe Weill in Paris in 1917 in 1917, was censored due to the erotic nature of his nudes. He died in poverty at just 35 years old.
Amedeo Modigliani is now recognized as one of the most significant artists of the early 20th century. His works are featured in prestigious museum collections worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tate Modern in London, and the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. His paintings and sculptures continue to be showcased in major exhibitions globally, such as the recent „Modigliani: Modern Views” in Berlin, which brought together approximately 100 of his works. In 2015, his painting „Nu couché” was sold at Christie’s in New York for $170.4 million, making it one of the most expensive paintings ever sold at auction. This record-breaking sale underscores Modigliani’s status as one of the most celebrated and valuable artists in history.
