Portrait of Maude Abrantes 1907

Amedeo Modigliani painted this portrait of Maude Abrantes, probably in oil, with a palette that feels both intimate and subdued. Look at how he builds the face with these short, deliberate strokes, almost like he’s sculpting with the brush. The texture here is so alive, right? You can practically feel the weave of the canvas coming through the paint, giving the whole thing this raw, immediate quality. The dark smudges around her eyes are fascinating. Are they exhaustion, sadness, or just the shadow of her intense gaze? It’s this ambiguity that keeps me hooked. I’m reminded of Paula Modersohn-Becker, another artist who wasn’t afraid to push the boundaries of portraiture with a similar search for emotional depth. Ultimately, it’s the openness of the piece, the sense that it’s inviting a conversation rather than making a definitive statement, that really resonates with me.