Bought in a flea market in Le Mans in 2010, the table turns out to be a modigliani

The flea markets sometimes reserve nice surprises. Fifteen years ago, Paolo Guzzini, an Italian entrepreneur and collector of art, acquired a painting during a market for art professionals in Le Mans, in Sarthe. Attracted by a cachet on the back of the canvas indicating a source of a workshop in Montmartre, he decided to buy the work without knowing its author.

« I was struck by the cachet on the canvas of a Montmartrois workshop frequented by many famous artists. I paid it for a few thousand euros, a considerable sum since the allocation was impossible » tells the Italian collector in an interview with the Italian daily life The Corriere della Sera .

Following its purchase, the collector then tries to know a little more. A specialized Institute of Rome then dates the work in the early 1900s. Experts then looked at the stamp on the back of the table and attributed it to a store that provided Montmartre artists at the start of the XX^e century. Finally, after chemical analyzes of canvas and painting, the painting is officially authenticated by the Modigliani Foundation as a creation by the artist.

According to The Corriere della Serathe director of the institution also confirmed the identity of the man represented. It is Mario Cavaglieri, a friend of Modigliani known in Venice, who had housed him during his youth. Affected by tuberculosis and died at only 35, Modigliani began his career by painting portraits of friends and acquaintances.

« The value of this work today does not only reside in its market price, but especially in the historical importance it takesCONSIDER PAOLA Girvini. According to experts, it could be one of the first works created by Modigliani after his arrival in Paris in 1906, while his talent began to stand out. »