Amedeo Modigliani

This attention-getting oil on canvas is thought by its owner and those who view it to be a splendid original Modigliani portrait of his lover, wife, and favorite model, Jeanne Hebuterne. Theirs was a relationship for the ages – she committed suicide when he died so she could be buried with him. Modigliani passed when he was relatively young, but he was a prolific painter and produced many works, especially many versions of Jeanne. Most of them are in museums. This particular piece can be viewed where it hangs in the great stately home described in www.phgmag.com/mediterranean-masterpiece. There is a Caracas Museum of Contemporary Art authentication certificate verso signed by Sofia Imber suggesting that it was one of the museum’s Modigliani paintings prior to the Chavez revolution. There is also an older Gallerie Charpentier certificate verso identifying it as a Modigliani. If forensics subsequently authenticates it as an original it will be worth millions instead of thousands. Partial ownership with full possession is possible if the buyer will agree to have the painting sold by Sotheby’s when Sotheby’s begins accepting forensics as proof of authenticity in lieu of Sotheby’s current requirement of a perfect provenance.