Bust of a Young Woman (Mademoiselle Marthe) 1917

This is Modigliani's 'Bust of a Young Woman', a painting that immediately captures our attention with its simplification of form and muted palette. The smooth, elongated face, devoid of pupils, gives the figure an enigmatic, almost mask-like presence. Modigliani was deeply influenced by early modernist movements. Here, the composition is structured by the contrast between the figure's dark clothing and the ambiguous background, split into contrasting sections of grey. The planes are simplified, creating a flattened perspective that invites us to consider the painting's surface and its formal elements. The closed eyes destabilize the traditional function of portraiture, drawing attention away from individual likeness to focus on the essential structure and geometry of the face. Ultimately, the power of this artwork resides in its formal tensions: the interplay between abstraction and representation, presence and absence, leading us to question traditional notions of identity and perception.