Rare Modigliani comes to market

Modigliani's Cariatide was painted in 1913

A rare watercolour painting by sculptor Modigliani has sold for £423,000 at an auction in London.

Cariatide depicts a female figure, and was painted by the Italian artist in 1913 at a time when he was becoming too ill to work on his large sculptures.

Modigliani's oil paintings and sculptures have fetched millions of pounds at auction but his watercolours are rarely seen on the market.

The painting, bought by an anonymous bidder, was sold at Bonhams.

"This is an exceptionally lovely work," said Caroline Oliphant, the director of paintings at Bonhams.

"Modigliani produced numerous drawings, but a fully-worked watercolour is much rarer to see.

"It presents an opportunity for collectors to obtain a wonderful example of a classic Modigliani subject."