The portrait on canvas of Modjesko now held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York appeared at the Bernheim-Jeune Gallery in the exhibition "Portraits of Men" in December 1908, this information allow us to date the two studies from 1907.
This strong work does not only testify of the underworld of Parisian nights, of which van Dongen was a fervent observer, but also illustrates the innovative stylistic and formal experiments of this great era of the Parisian avant-garde.
Date: 1907 Period: 20th century Origin: France Medium: Oil on paper laid down on canvas Signature:
Signed and titled lower right: Van Dongen. / Modjesko Soprano / Singer
Dimensions: 65 x 33.5 cm (25⁵/₈ x 13¹/₄ inches) Provenance: Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler collection. Sale Hôtel Drouot, Paris, Tableaux modernes, 28th February 1930, n°98. Private collection, acquired from the previous sale. Mrs. Dominique Cibie, Paris, circa 1950.
Literature:
Anita Hopmans, Van Dongen retrouvé, L'oeuvre sur papier, 1895-1912, exhibition catalogue, Editions de la Réunion des Musées Nationaux, Paris, 1997, reproduced p. 238.
This work will be included in the Digital Catalogue Raisonné of van Dongen's work being prepared by the Wildenstein Plattner Institute, Inc. Notification of inclusion dated May 24th 2018.
Exhibitions: 48 Sonder Ausstellung Meisterwerke deutscher Kunst aus Hannoverschem Privatbesitz. Kees Van Dongen. H.F. Bieling, Gerlwh, Hanover, Kestner Gesellschaft, 5th February - 1st March 1922, n°56.
