Investigative journalists at The Fifth Estate have done a fascinating documentary on a disputed Modigliani which the Panama Papers revealed was in the possession of one of the most powerful art dealing families in the world. Anyone interested in art history and provenance could learn a lot, and lovers of Modigliani will certainly enjoy the unwrapping of this mystery.
There is, in addition, an interesting local history connection. The sitter for this beautiful portrait by Modigliani was Georges Menier, who lived in Lognes, a pretty town in the eastern banlieue of Paris of which he was the mayor. He belonged to the great Menier chocolate-making family.
The Menier chocolate factory, which was owned by Nestle by the time we discovered it in a walk along the Marne, is in nearby Noisiel. They used to offer tours (and might still be doing so).
The story keeps evolving, as investigative journalists who started by looking into the Panama Papers added their findings to those of art historians, lawyers and investigators looking into the looted art connection. There has been a lot of great reporting, including by Le Monde, which wrote about the affair in both French and in English, France 3 which sent investigator Pascal Henry and a film crew for "Pièces à Conviction" to record the examination of the painting during which a half-scratched off label was found with the name of the owner, Radio Canada, which looked into the relationship between key actors Jean Van Der Klip and John Livengood, Süddeutsche Zeitung, which obtained the Mossack Fonseca documents, and many others.
Amid this ongoing scandal, which contains many invaluable lessons for young art sleuths and provenance researchers, there are a few fascinating details as well. It was learned, for example, that Modigliani painted not only Georges Menier but also, according to Anna Zborowsky in her memoir Modigliani et Zborowsky, his wife.
Anna Zborowski was married to Léopold Zborowski, who came to Paris as a young Polish poet and became Modigliani's art dealer. In her memoir she describes how "Zbo" (Léopold) was invited by Modigliani to view the finished portrait of "Monsieur Menier (l'homme du chocolat"). Zbo had arrived a little early and found Monsieur Menier still there. (Gêné, il voulut se retirer en prétextant un rendez-vous urgent, mais on le retient gentiment")
In the end, all three went out to celebrate at Modigliani's invitation "chez le bougnat de sa rue".
"Chacun payait sa tournée et ils se separèrent enchantés d'avoir passé un moment agréable qui pour M. Menier eu tout le saveur d'une chose inconnu."
The chocolatier then got into his "belle voiture" and took off to his "sompueuse demeure".
At the bottom of the page, a footnote mentions that Modigliani also did the portrait of Madame Menier, called "La Femme au Collier vert."
It is rare to see investigative journalists dig into an art story like this, and the results are really inspiring. The methods of investigative journalism have a lot to offer in this area.
A further area for exploration might include a look at Arthur Pfannstiel, a well-documented Nazi-era art looter, translator of such works as Adolf Hitler's Principes d'action, and author of highly unreliable catalogue raisonnés including Modigliani et son œuvre. Paris, 1956, and (with Bernard Schuster in a book thoroughly mocked by Spy Magazine in a must-read article), Modigliani: a Study of His Sculpture.
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see also:
Le Modigliani était bien caché - Le Monde
« Panama papers » : a clearer picture on the hidden Modigliani
De nouveaux indices dans l'affaire du mystérieux Modigliani | ICI ...
VIDEO. Quand un Modigliani spolié refait surface dans les "Panama ...
«Panama Papers»: Un Modigliani «spolié» se cache à Genève ...
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