There is Modigliani’s painting “Red Head”, drawn on cardboard in 1915, which undeniably shows a red cape on a green background – a strange green, very dense, very gorgeous. In 2016, this “red cape” and its green background was presented at LaM, Lille’s grand museum of modern art, during an exhibition dedicated to Italian, and the curators took an intense look at this red color. This is green.

They admired the Society’s boldness: Modigliani (1884-1920), a creative colorist, returned to coarse cords, to work with complementary colors, like an old master who finds beauty only in appearance. Well, we were just talking about anything.Four years later, said Marie Amelie Senott, LaM’s conservation attaché. The table, meanwhile, has been analyzed. It turned out that the background was originally blue, and the varnish yellowed the cardboard.

Basic compositions

We are at the end of February. Marie-Amélie Senot presents the results of a large survey conducted since 2018 on 25 Modigliani panels preserved in French public collections. In addition to the museum, there are about ten institutes collaborated. The investigations were led by Dr Anais Gainty Vincent, a physician in materials chemistry.

‘Red Head’ (1915) on a green, formerly blue background. (Bridgman / Limage photos)

Panels were passed for imaging under ultraviolet, infrared reflection, nigato