Nu couché explained

Nu couché should not be confused with Reclining Nude (On the Left Side).

Nu couché
Artist:	Amedeo Modigliani
Year:	1917
Medium:	Oil on canvas
Height Metric:	60
Width Metric:	92
Metric Unit:	cm
Museum:	Private collection of Liu Yiqian

Nu couché (also known in English as Red Nude^[1] or Reclining Nude) is a 1917 oil on canvas painting by the Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani. It is one of his most widely reproduced and exhibited paintings.

Painting

The painting is one of a famous series of nudes that Modigliani painted in 1917 under the patronage of his Polish dealer Léopold Zborowski. It is believed to have been included in Modigliani's first and only art show in 1917, at the Galerie Berthe Weill, which was shut down by the police. Christie's lot notes for their November 2015 sale of the painting observed that this group of nudes by Modigliani served to reaffirm and reinvigorate the nude as a subject of modernist art.^{[2] [3]}

Commentary

The Guardian art critic Jonathan Jones claims that Modigliani continues the tradition of Titian's Venus of Urbino "glorifying the human body infuses the sexuality of Modigliani's nude", reinvented a decade before by the paintings of Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. Jones states that "Modigliani is a religious artist and his religion is desire."^[4]

Provenance

• Léopold Zborowski, Paris.
• Jonas Netter, Paris.
• Riccardo and Cesarina Gualino, Turin (acquired in Paris, 2 October 1928).
• Società Anonima Finanziaria, Zaccaria Pisa, Milan; collection sale, Galleria Pesaro, Milan, 5–8 February 1934, lot 185.
• Pietro Feroldi, Brescia (by 1935).
• Gianni Mattioli, Milan (acquired from the above, 1949)
• by descent to Laura Mattioli Rossi (1977)^[5]
• Liu Yiqian, Shanghai, 2015 (sold at Christie's, New York, 9 November 2015 for $170,405,000).^{[6] [7]}

2015 sale

The painting realized $170,405,000 at a Christie's New York sale on 9 November 2015, a record for a Modigliani painting and placing it high among the most expensive paintings ever sold.^[8] The purchaser was the Chinese businessman Liu Yiqian.^[9] Liu is believed to have paid for the painting using his American Express card.^[10]

See also

• Paintings by Amedeo Modigliani
• List of most expensive paintings

External links

• Christie's video
• Nu Couché by Modigliani | Check123- Video Encyclopedia
• The creation of the modern Olympia — from Courbet to Freud Christie's article on the three nudes, by Courbet, Modigliani and Freud respectively, offered at its November 2015 sale.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Sleeping Nude With Arms Open Red Nude. Modigliani Foundation. 15 November 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151117030616/http://www.modigliani-foundation.org/Sleeping-Nude-With-Arms-Open---Red-Nude.html. 17 November 2015. dead.
2. Web site: Modigliani masterpiece to lead November sales week in New York. Christie's.
3. Web site: Zampetti. Chiara. What Makes Modigliani's Nu Couché Worth $100 Million?. 3 November 2015. Artsy.
4. News: Jones . Jonathan . 10 November 2015 . Sex Sells: Why Modigliani's 98-Year-Old Hymn to Lust Is Worth $170M . The Guardian . 3 December 2023.
5. News: 5 Fascinating Facts About the $170 Million Modigliani Nude at Christie's. Eileen. Kinsella. Artnet. November 9, 2015. November 10, 2015.
6. Web site: Nu couché. Christie's.
7. News: Meet the Chinese billionaire behind the record Amedeo Modigliani purchase. Telegraph. November 10, 2015. November 10, 2015. Neil. Connor.
8. News: Robin Pogrebin and Scott Reyburn . 10 November 2015 . With $170.4 Million Sale at Auction, Modigliani Work Joins Rarefied Nine-Figure Club . New York Times.
9. News: Qin . Amy . 10 November 2015 . Chinese Taxi Driver Turned Billionaire Bought Modigliani Painting . New York Times.
10. Web site: 23 November 2015 . Billionaire buys $170M painting with credit card The Star . 2019-01-26 . thestar.com . en.