Seated Nude (1916)

Description

Amedeo Modigliani’s Seated Nude, dated 1916 by the Courtauld, gathers a turned body into a close vertical composition. The head leans toward the raised shoulder, its closed eyes and dark hair giving the upper part a concentrated stillness. One arm extends downward to brace the figure, while a dark red seat and gray-green background distinguish the surrounding space without competing with the nude’s presence.

Modigliani’s simplified forms invite attention to proportion and the connections between one part of the body and another. A contour can carry the eye along a larger passage, while the face provides a more concentrated point of encounter. The figure remains recognizable and physically present even as its shapes are carefully adjusted. The work’s effect comes from that balance: an intimate human subject held within an unmistakably constructed design, where the stillness of the pose allows every relationship to become more apparent.

Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Amedeo Modigliani collection.