kolkata amedeo modiglianis masterly portrait of paul alexandre will headline the first sale of impressionist modern art at sothebys paris this year on june 4 the work which has an estimate of 58 million 6911 million pays tribute to modiglianis earliest and most important patron it is in perfect condition and comes fresh to the market having remained in the sitters family until today it is one of an exceptional ensemble of five works by the italian artist to be offered during the sale apart from the magnificent portrait already mentioned there will also be a superb ensemble of drawings by modigliani including a 1909 portrait of paul alexandre in threequarter profile with his hand in his pocket that reflects modiglianis incomparable technical virtuosity estimate 200000300000245000412000 another important modigliani drawing from the same ensemble is a head of a cariatide 1913 in blue pencil reflecting modiglianis fascination with sculpture which occupied a vital place in his art the drawing illustrating one of his most soughtafter architectural subjects reveals the formal power of modiglianis work at the time and his quest for ideal beauty through the simplification and stylization of forms estimate 120000180000165000247000 the sale also pays tribute to some of the leading names of 20th century art starting with georges braque represented by a rare and splendid still life with cherries 1936 this is one of his most refined composition of the 1930s a decade when he pursued the formal exploration he had begun during his cubist period and at the same time embarked on new aesthetic research that would lead to his famous atelier series a few years later estimate 6000008000008240001 million pablo picasso is another of the star artists in the sale with two paintings featuring his own studios the artist and his model 1964 shows his studio at notredame de vie in mougins where picasso began working in 1963 estimate 2228 million338 million the studio became one of his favourite subjects and saw him pay vibrant homage to the role of the artist in compositions laden with eroticism and stupendous energy the sale also majors on surrealism beginning with a monumental work by joan mir his charismatic bird figure from 1976 this extremely powerful work embodying the quintessence of mirs poetic vocabulary was painted on recuperated paper in finest surrealist tradition estimate 115 million132 million last but not least comes a work by andr masson featuring one of his favourite subjects pygmalion 1938 from his mythologies series the painting highlights the confrontation between creation and destruction and is laden with startling violence foretelling imminent global conflagration and echoing the horrors of the spanish civil war then in progress we are at the heart of the paroxystic expressionism evoked by masson expressed here in an overpowering composition with tortuous lines and eyebattering use of colour estimate 350000450000480700618000