Italian collector unveils hidden Modigliani masterpiece

Aseemingly anonymous painting bought by an Italian collector in a French flea market 15 years ago has now been attributed to early 20th century Modernist bohemian master Amedeo Modigliani, Il Resto del Carlino newspaper reported, CE Report quotes ANSA.

The now-priceless painting was bought by an entrepreneur and collector from the Marche birthplace of poet Giacomo Leopardi, Recanati, Paolo Guzzini.

The work, without a signature, had a stamp on the back belonging to a shop that supplied artists in Montmartre at the beginning of the twentieth century.

This element advised the owner of the painting to further research the author, and the Modigliani archive in Rome confirmed the attribution to the artist from Livorno, so much so that it was published in the new and sixth volume of the Modigliani archive.

The painting, according to this attribution, is believed to depict Mario Cavalieri, a friend of Modigliani's whom he met in Venice and who hosted him during his young adulthood.

Modigliani, who died of illness at only 35 years old, began his career by portraying friends and acquaintances.

The portrait could therefore be one of the Tuscan maestro's first works created after his arrival in Paris.

The painting is now part of Guzzini's private collection.

Modigliani's works fetch millions of dollars on the auction network, and his trademark long-necked female portraits are especially prized.

Johnny Depp recently made a film on Modigliani's tempestuous drug and alcohol fuelled life and death from tubucular meningitis on January 24, 1920.