An interpretative study of a catalogue published on the occasion of the
discovery of two sculptures in the canal of Livorno in 1984. Attributed to
Modigliani, these sculptures were, in fact, a student hoax.
Local legend has it that in 1909, painter and sculptor Amedeo Modigliani
threw several sculptures into the canal of his hometown in Livorno, Italy.
In 1984, on what would have been the artist's 100th birthday, an
underwater search was organized and proved to be successful. Deux
pierres retrouvées d'Amedeo Modigliani is a reading and
reinterpretation of Due pietre ritrovate di Amedeo
Modigliani, a catalog published in September 1984. Through
texts and images, this Italian catalog describes the discovery in
Livorno's Fosso Reale of two heads sculpted by Amedeo Modigliani: photo
portfolio, historical perspective, biographical approach, research
progress, chemical and technical analyses. The continuity of the story
surrounding the catalog reveals how the elegant Italian publication,
quickly banned for sale, became a uchronia through an event that never
actually took place. This text was written and delivered for the first
time as part of an invitation by Kadist, Paris, on April 13, 2017.
Christophe Lemaitre is an artist and he is co-editor of Postdocument and Composite journals.
