Portrait Of A Woman C 1917–18. Oil On Canvas

Description

Amedeo Modigliani’s Portrait of a Woman, painted around 1917–18, brings an unidentified sitter into a restrained half-length composition. Her long neck rises from a black dress with gray sleeves, while a small golden pendant provides a concentrated accent below. The head tilts toward the left, its blue eyes and elongated features held against a warm brown background that reinforces the portrait’s quiet, enclosed character.

The portrait directs attention through a balance of long contours and compact details. The eyes and mouth occupy a small area, but they influence the character of the whole likeness. Clothing supplies larger divisions that guide the eye back toward the head. Modigliani’s simplification does not erase the sitter’s presence; it gives that presence a particular pictorial rhythm. The result is a quiet encounter in which posture, proportion and the inclination of the face carry more weight than an elaborate setting.

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