Portrait of Oscar Miestchanioff 1916

Amedeo Modigliani probably painted this portrait of Oscar Miestchanioff with oils on canvas at a time when he was trying to synthesize all the different isms he had seen: Cubism, Impressionism, Fauvism, and even a little bit of the old masters. I just love how the blue of Oscar’s shirt pulls forward, especially against the soft haze of greens behind him, giving us the feeling of a real presence. The brushwork is loose and improvisational, but Modigliani gets all the details he needs. And the face – the eyes, just a subtle suggestion, almost as if he is sleeping or in a meditative state. The deep blush on his cheeks is a counterpoint to the cool blues and greens. Modigliani might have been trying to capture not just a likeness, but something about Oscar’s inner life. It’s like he’s saying, "Here’s a person, but also an emotion, a mood." We see Modigliani’s conversations with other artists of his time, and yet, he makes something entirely his own.