In 1919, Amedeo Modigliani painted a portrait of his Polish friend and art dealer Leopold Zborowski, whose goal in life was to make Modigliani famous. 

This wasn’t a relationship built strictly on business. Rather, it was one that blossomed into a real friendship and lasted a lifetime. Leopold Zborowski would be one of the last paintings Modigliani created, as he died a year later. Three years before the creation of the portrait, the former poet Zborowski became Modigliani's full time art dealer. Zborowski was a great asset. He lacked funds that could rival the Medicis, but he did purchase as much of Modigliani’s work as he could afford. Having Zborowski in his corner was a huge blessing. But the biggest scandal to hit Modigliani’s career was thanks to him.

Zborowski bagged the Italian artist a solo show in Paris. The show would consist of newly painted nudes created between 1916-1917. The story goes that the twelve nudes were painted swiftly thanks to Zborowski’s insistence. The amateur dealer invested heavily in Modigliani by paying for his materials and his wages, as well as those of the models who sat for him. The investment was big, but Zborowski was thinking bigger. 

The strategy behind these portraits came from the mastermind art dealer, who knew nudes would cause a scene and bring Modigliani into the spotlight. And it did! But the portraits failed to sell. In fact, they were lucky to sell two drawings. Not only that, but the portraits were also censored by the police. This was Modigliani’s first and only solo exhibition and the ‘authorities' shut it down on the grounds of indecency, thanks to the pubic hair. Let’s just do a collective eye roll and remember this isn’t the only time somone's had a nervous breakdown over female body parts.

While the sight of pubic hair may have churned the stomachs of public officials, Zborowski wasn’t easily deterred. This was a man so committed to Modigliani, he stuck through the drunken tirades, excessive drug use, and adultery. A little police interference and a failure to sell art were hardly going to stop him. 

In 1918, Zborowski sent his beloved friend and his family to Nice, France. At the time, France was facing bombardments that didn’t look like they would end anytime soon. Near the end of his life, Modigliani’s models were limited to his inner circle. These included Zborowski’s wife, Hanka; Paulette Jourdain, who met Modigliani in Zborowski’s apartment; and Zborowski himself. Modigliani died at just thirty-five years old,after years of alcohol and drug abuse.Zborowski cared for his friend and, in the end, even went so far as to make the funeral arrangements. 

Their friendship is one for the books. New to the game of art dealing, Zborowski worked out of his apartment in Paris up until 1926, when he moved into a gallery. His client list included Chaïm Soutine, too. However, nine years after Modigliani’s death, his high-flying life of luxury ended in bankruptcy, thanks to the Great Depression. Zborowski was left with his memories and this portrait of him in a slick suit, undeniably a Modigliani due to the elongated neck and empty oval eyes. Zborowski died destitute in 1932, after which his wife had to sell his entire art collection.