PORTRAIT  OF  JEANNE  HÉBUTHERN  (AU  FOULARD)  

Amedeo  Modigliani  

IMPRESSIONIST  &  MODERN  ART    The  Evening  sale  of  21st  June  –  Sotheby’s  New  York    Jeanne  Helluy  Art  &  its  Markets  

 

#00000136584  

  2  

 

Introduction   Modigliani was born in Livorno in 1884. When I was 14 years old, he started to paint and displayed an immense talent. In 1906, he moved to Paris and joined the “avant-gardist movement”. Instead of the other artist influence, he began to develop his own style. The present painting was one the most important on the evening sale of 21 June. His portrait “reveals a tender moment between a pioneering modernist and his loyal muse.”1

A.  Market  Analysis  

1.   Catalog  analysis   The catalog highlights the “cultural mythology” about Amedeo and Jeanne’s romantic story. Jeanne was his inseparable muse and companion since they met in 1917. They were studying at the Académie Colarossi where Jeanne was drawing. Their relation was difficult since they had fallen in love. Jeanne was French Catholic and Amedeo was Italian Jewish. Jeanne’s parents were really old fashion and racist against his religion. Moreover, as an unknown artist, Modigliani was really poor and starts to drink too much. He was also very sick at that time because he had tuberculosis since he was 14 years old. He died in 1920 when Jeanne was 9 months pregnant of their second child. Then, she came back to her family’s house and committed suicide a few days after, jumping out of a window. The portrait is fewer more important as it had been painted a few months before their premature death. Thus, the catalog uses the story as a powerful marketing tool. However, it is necessary to understand the context in order to value the portrait. The  main  goal  of  the  catalog  entry  is  to  enhance  the  aesthetic  value  of  the  piece.  It  uses  a  lot  of   amplification   adjectives   to   rise   the   financial   value   of   the  work.   For   instance,   Sotheby’s  cataloguers  use  the  terms  “wonderful”  and  “poignant”  to  describe  the  portrait.  It  allows  the  client   to   have   a   good   feeling   about   the   artwork.   Also,   the   description   of   the   aesthetic   is  highlighted   by   the   expression   “rich   palette   and   sublimely   graceful   line”   which   help   the  customers   to  measure  the  work’s  quality”.  Sotheby’s   reporters  seem  to  be  very  subjective  according  to  their  feeling  in  the  artwork.  They  use  the  catalog  as  a  marketing  tool  to  enhance  the  aesthetic  value  of  the  portrait.     First, the painting had been owned by M. Constant Lepoutre was an Art dealer well-known for his time. He was also painted by the artist.

                                                                                                               1  Sotheby’s  catalog  

#00000136584  

  3  

Second, it was acquired by the Gallerie de France, one of the most important galleries in Paris. It was created in 1942 by Paul Martin and Jacques Lambert. Third, Pierre Lévy, a French businessman who was the founder of Devanlay, buy the painting in 1956. His son Jean had acquired the painting at his death. Finally, it was sold at Christie’s in 1986 for the price of $2,7 million. According to his good provenance, the price should be higher than forecast. Moreover, the painting will be renting to the Tate Modern between November 2017 and April 2018 for a Major Modigliani retrospective. For collectors and investors, goals to buy portrait is really different. Some collectors would enjoy borrowing their artwork to a museum but some other will prefer to keep the portrait for their own pleasure. Most investors will manage actively their artwork. Usually, they will lend them as it increases the value from public. One of the consequence was the emergence of exchange-lending platform for Art like Vastart. The painting has been exhibited around the world, especially in Europe where it remains very well-known. For example, it had been shown in Tokyo twice. This proves the global awareness of the painting. Moreover, the painting represents a rare opportunity for the auction market as the public hasn’t seen it since 1994. It could represent an honor for the collector to own it and to show it at the exhibition.

2.   Valuation  of  the  Object    According to the data and context, I have expected the portrait to fetch between $40,000,000 -$60,000,000. The press and expert was mostly expecting it to fetch 40 million dollars based on the other painting by the artist. Also, the price was considering the modernist style and the fascinated romantic story behind the portrait. Finally, it was sold for €44,144,825 (£34,250,000) including the buyer’s premium and €49,634,250 (£38,509,000) with taxes. As a example, similar work is Jeanne Hébutherne (Au chapeau) which has been sold for £26,9M at Christies London in February 2013.

The  price  of  the  similar  Modigliani  painting  sold  in  2013  was  £26.9M.  According  to  the  market,  the  value  of  the  painting  should  be  around  £41,220,753  (26.9M*1,53237).      

#00000136584  

  4  

 In  November  2015,  one  of  the  most  important  art  collectors  in  America,  Alfred  Taubman,  has  held  the  first  of  his  four  sales  dedicated  to  his  own  collection.  The  star  lot  of  the  contemporary  masterpieces  was  the  portrait  of  Pauline  Jourdain  painted  by  Amedeo  Modigliani.  The  bidding  started  at  $17  million  to  fetch  $42.8  million  including  fees.  Thus,  the  target  price  for  the  portrait  of  Jeanne  Hébutherne  should  be  around  $40  million.    

“The  room  was  packed  for  this  historic  sale  and  the  atmosphere  was  electric…at  least,  at  the  start  of  the  bidding,  which  often  lost  its  momentum  somewhat  prematurely,  leading  to  a  certain  amount  of  anxiety.  In  short,  although  the  sale  did  not  live  up  to  expectations,  the  end  result  was  

honourable...”  

 According  to  the  market  data,  Modigliani’s  works  seem  to  have  an  important  potential  value.      

 Modigliani’s   works   fetch   a   very   high   price   at   the   sale   since   2000.   In   January   2016,   the  investment  of  100  $  in  a  Amedeo  Modigliani  work  since  2000,  will  have  an  average  value  of  218  $.  It  means  that  the  price  has  double  within  sixteen  years.        

 Figure  1  turnover  of  chronological  progression  

#00000136584  

  5  

The  evolution  of   turnover  on  Amedeo  Modigliani’s  painting   is   also  a   good   indicator.   Since  2013,  the  market  has  skyrocketed  to  fetch  a  sales  revenue  of  $223,600,175.  This  high  revenue  is  due  to  the  sale  record  of  “Nu  couché”  for  $170  million  in  New  York  in  November  2015.  It  was  purchased  by  Chinese  billionaire  Liu  Yiqian  in  order  to  be  exhibited  in  the  Long  Museum  in  Shanghai.      Indeed,  105  lots  have  been  sold  in  the  United  Kingdom  since  2000.  Moreover,  the  number  of  lots   sold   is   higher   in   France   with   166   lots   sold.   This   result   shows   that   the   demand   of  Modigliani’s  work  seems  to  increase  as  the  auction  price  are  higher  and  higher.          

   However,  the  market  growth  is  dramatically  decreasing,  following  the  guaranty  reduction  of  the  auction  house  since  November  2015.  Despite  the  rise  of  the  artworks  price,  the  profit  has  plummeted   for   auction   houses   like   Sotheby’s.   The   reason   is   the   pay   discount   (10-­‐15%)   of  buyer  fees  they  paid  in  order  to  sell  their  work.  The  auction  house  ended  up  in  competition  with  one  another  and  benefits   less  from  the  sales.  According  to  their  huge  marketing  fees,  they  had  to  find  a  solution  to  generate  more  profit  and  decided  to  cut  the  guaranty’s  amount  on  sale.  Therefore,  the  Market  has  reacted  quite  quickly  and  sales  have  plummeted.  However,  I   truly   thought   that   it   will   come   out,   I   would   say   that   the   Modigliani   portrait   is   a   good  investment.        

#00000136584  

  6  

 

B.  Allow  a  more  wide-­‐ranging  discussion  of  the  Art  market.      

1.   The  General  Market  of  Impressionist  &  Modern  Art    The  Impressionist  movement  was  the  first   in  Modern  Art.   In  1872,  Claude  Monet   initiate  a  painting  style  independent  from  academic  artistic  convention.  Pure,  light  and  intense  colours  were   merged   with   no   linear   perception   and   confusing   form   to   give   the   appearance   of  unfinished  work.  He  was  painting  ‘impressions’  of  the  reality  to  enhance  the  importance  of  capturing   ephemeral   moments   of   modern   life.   Indeed,   he   was   considering   that   brain  conception  and  eye  perception  were  different.    Post  Impressionist    The  market  of  Impressionist  &  Modern  Art  has  seen  a  tremendous  changed  since  2000.    On   24   June   2015,   Sotheby’s   was   recording   its   second-­‐best   performance   on   sales   with   a  hammered  a  total  of  US$282  million.  On  the  eve,  Christie  was  selling  US$112.9  million  at  its  prestigious   night’s   sale.   Those   impressive   sales   were   followed   by   other   excellent   London  results   on   artists’   artworks   as   Gustav   Klimt   ($38.1   million),   Edgar   Degas   ($24.96  million),  Édouard  Manet  ($26.7  million)  etc.  This  evolution  is  due  to  some  new  factors  that  affect  the  price.      

 Figure  2  Records  of  progression  for  Modigliani’s  artwork.  

 2.   Painting  influence  and  comparisons    

 a)   Influences  

Modigliani  works  was  influenced  both  by  old  masters  and  artists  of  its  time.    avant-­‐gardist  works:    

•   Modigliani  was  born  and  grew  up  in  an  Italian  village,  Livorno.  Since  his  childhood,  he  was  passionate  by  the  Italian  painters  like  Botticelli,  El  Greco  and  Parmigianino…  The  Mannerism   style   of   seventeenth-­‐sixtieth   Italian   artists   is   represented   by   the   light  colour  and  the  elegance  of  Jeanne.    

•   Cubism  with  geometric  simplification  and  break-­‐up  forms,  sculptors  Ossip  Zadkine  and  Jacques  Lipchitz,  both  of  whom  were  strongly  influenced  by  Cubism.  

#00000136584  

  7  

•   In   the   early   1900,   the   African   sculpture   emerged   with   the   colonization   of   African  countries   and   the   discover   of   “art   nègre”.   Modigliani   was   one   of   the   pioneers   of  ‘primitivist’  style  with  Picasso,  Matisse  and  Brancusi.  Modigliani’s  portrait  was  strongly  influenced  by  African  masks  like  the  white  mask  of  Congo.  At  the  beginning  of  early  modernism   in   Europe,   they   represented   simplify   and   abstract   human   figure   as   a  reference  to  African  sculptures.  

 

ArtFacts  2015    

 Figure  3  Femme  assise  –  Picasso  &  Grand  Nu  Couché  -­‐  Matisse  

 b)   Comparison  with  Picasso  

 Last  year,  the  sale  price  of  Modigliani  and  Picasso’s  work  was  around  $170  million  each.  Thus,  4   times   the   current   price   of   the   same   artist’s   works.   The  masterpieces   sold  was   the   “Nu  couché”  by  Modigliani  and  “Les  femmes  d’Alger”  by  Picasso.    The   Modigliani   was   acquired   by   the   Chinese   businessman   Liu Yiqian to be exhibited in Shanghai’s Long museum.    

Most exhibitions in

Country № USA 94 Italy 43 Germany 21 United Kingdom 21 Spain 16  Most exhibitions shown with

Artist Rank № Pablo Picasso 2 161 Henri Matisse 47 107 Marc Chagall 181 70 Georges Braque 365 70 Joan Miró 59 67

 

According  to  the  data  from  ArtFact,  Modigliani  has  been  most  exhibited  with  artists  of  his  time  like  Pablo  Picasso  and  Henri  Matisse.  For  instance,  his  artworks  were  presented  161  times  with  Modigliani’s.  This  is  the  result  of  their  close  influence  with  allowing  their  works  to  match  together  in  a  perfect  harmony.  In   the  early  20th   century,  Modigliani   and  Picasso  were   come  from   “avant-­‐gardist”   painter’s   movement   in   Montparnasse.  They  were  also  both  influenced  by  African  masks  and  cubism.  Henri  Matisse  was  also  an   important  protagonist  of  Modern  Art.  He  was  a  specialist  of  “Fauvism”  movement.  Most  of  his  painting   like   “Grand   Nu   couché”   can   be   associated   with  Modigliani’s  style  with  the  nudity  and  the  influence  of  African  sculpture.    

#00000136584  

  8  

On   the   evening   sale   of   21st   June,   Sotheby’s   has   presented   the   Pablo   Picasso   Cubist  masterpiece  “Femme  assise”(1909)  which  paint  Fernande  Olivier,  the  first  wife  and  muse  of  the  artist.  It  was  known  as  one  of  the  first  “Cubism”  work  by  the  artist.  The  model  is  mostly  represented  with  geometric  form  as  the  consequence  of  the  reinterpretation  of  form.  It  has  been   sold   for   $63.5   million   as   the   seventh   best-­‐ever   auction   result   for   the   artist.   The  provenance  was  really  good  since  it  was  owned  by  Richard  K.Weil.  He  was  a  private  collector  who  owned  the  painting  for  40  years.  Its  value  was  also  increased  by  the  market  opportunity  to  rediscover  the  painting.  At  the  same  evening,  Modigliani’s  portrait  of  Jeanne  Hébuthern  was  also  sold.      Finally,  the  market  has  decreased  by  10%  in  comparison  of  the  last  ten  year.  Sotheby’s  sale  has  dropped  by  50%  since  last  year.  The  two  masterpieces  fetch  more  than  40  million  dollars  each  even  if  the  market  is  definitely  slowing  since  November  2015.  For  that  reason,  we  can  consider  that  the  market  of  Impressionist  &  Modern  Art  is  still  powerful.    

 Figure  4  Modigliani  Lots  sold  since  2000  

 According  to  the  figure  3,  the  majority  of  lots  have  been  sold  for  a  price  between  10  -­‐  50  million  dollars  since  2000.        

3.   Evolution  of  Impressionist  &  Modern  Art  :  5  Reasons  behind  the  growing  value  of  Art.    

 First,  the  artwork  is  valuated  by  its  non-­‐physical  attributes.  For  instance,  the  story  behind  the  painting  artists  historical,  picture  illustration,  provenance,  etc.  For  instance,  the  value  of  “nu  couché”  by  Modigliani  was  undervalued  according  to  his  impressive  provenance.  It  was  own  by  the  famous  collector  Mattioli  since  1949.      Second  the  value  depends  of  the  quality  and  the  uniqueness.  Nowadays,  quality  work  is  more  and  more  difficult  to  find  in  order  to  the  increasing  demand.  Thus,  Auction  houses  rather  like  to  offer  works  with   the  highest  quality   in  order   to  ensure  prestigious  demand  around   the  world.  They  use  their  ability  to  convince  the  customer  as  an  important  marketing  investment  for  the  catalog,  gallery  decoration,  etc.  Thus  they  adopt  a  new  strategy:  small  sales  with  high  quality.  For  instance,  the  sale  of  the  21  June  was  only  sold  17  lots  whereas  the  means  of  units  sold  is  around  40.  They  use  economic  logic  as  they  decrease  supply  while  increasing  demand.  Thus,  the  price  is  rising  since  the  buyers  respond  to  the  rarity  and  quality.    

#00000136584  

  9  

   Third,  the  value  changed  with  emotion  from  painting  according  to  a  subjective  point  of  view.  The  price  may  also  increase  according  to  the  customer’s  emotions  and  sensibilities  from  the  artworks.  For  instance,  Jeanne’s  portrait  is  particular  for  the  reason  that  it’s  one  of  the  first  Modigliani  where  eyes  are  characteristics.  Indeed,  the  painter  used  to  paint  eyes  as  almond  shame.  To  his  point  of  view,  he  had  to  know  the  soul  of  the  model  to  paint  her  eyes.  Since  Jeanne   and   him  was   inseparable   for   3   years,   he   can   afford   to   represent   her   eyes   as   the  reflexion  of  her  personality.  Indeed,  the  portrait  translate  the  emotion  and  the  personality  of  Jeanne.  We  can  imagine  that  she  was  gauche,  elegant  with  a  melancholic  moue.  However,  this  feeling  remains  subjective  and  the  client  may  not  be  able  to  feel  the  strong  emotion  from  the  painting.      Fourth,   the   globalization   and   growing   wealth   have   transformed   the   Art   market   for  impressionist  and  modern  Art.      On   the   one   hand,   major   Chinese   collectors   are   more   and   more   willing   to   diversify   their  collections.   They  want   to   get   a  wide-­‐ranging   of   different   artworks   in   their   portfolio.   They  usually   acquire   major   signature   of   period   like   old-­‐masters,   contemporary,   modern   &  impressionists.    In  another  hand,  museums  are  becoming  more  attractive  for  people  as  the  living  conditions  increase.  Since  2000,  the  number  of  museums  has  skyrocketed  with  a  means  of  700  museums  created  every  year.  They  have  created  more  museums  in  fifteen  years  than  in  the  two  previous  century.  This  is  the  result  of  the  socio-­‐economical  facts;  the  museum  is  the  “new  cathedral”.  Nowadays,   museums   have   become   real   business   which   try   to   bring   as   many   people   as  possible.   They   purchased   artworks  with   a   “cultural   renommée”   (international   appeal)   like  Modigliani,  Picasso,  Gauguin  as  a  guarantee  to  attract  visitors.  Thus,  the  price  of  iconic  artwork  as  skyrocket  and  their  acquisition  are  the  result  of  a  “carefully  economic  strategy”2.      Fifth,  the  emerge  of  technology  is  having  a  huge  impact  of  the  Art  Market.  In  the  last  15  years,  new  technologies  have  increased  at  an  impressive  speed.  Nowadays,  95%  of  the  auction  house  allow  their  customer  to  bid  via  the  internet  versus  only  3%  in  2003.3  For  instance,  Beijing  Poly  International  Auction  Company  have  created  online  ,  with  the  help  of  “Yidian  China”.  Only  auction,  e-­‐commerce   for  Art   sales,  data  base  platform  has  been  created   in  order   to   raise   people   interest   in   the   Art   Market.   Moreover,   they   allow   more  transparency  in  the  Art  Market  and  thus,  increase  the  confidence  of  the  market.    

                                                                                                               2  Art  price  report  2015  3  Art  price  report  2015  

#00000136584  

  10  

 

Bibliography    http://www.artmarketmonitor.com/2016/02/23/guarantees-follow-market-not-other-way-around/ https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/jan/30/how-auction-houses-christies-and-sotheby-lose-money http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/10/arts/with-170-4-million-sale-at-auction-modigliani-work-joins-rarefied-nine-figure-club.html?_r=0 http://www.sothebys.com/de/auctions/ecatalogue/2016/impressionist-modern-art-evening-sale-l16006/lot.12.html http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2016/impressionist-modern-art-evening-sale-l16006/lot.8.html https://www.artfacts.net/en/artist/amedeo-­‐modigliani-­‐12113/profile.html  https://news.artnet.com/market/amedeo-­‐modigliani-­‐jeanne-­‐hebuterne-­‐sothebys-­‐511958  http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/aima/hd_aima.htm  http://ezproxy.sothebysinstitute.com:2119/artmarketinsight/1163/Mixed+results+for+the+first+part+of+the+Taubman+sales+