A red bust 1913

This striking red bust was painted by Amedeo Modigliani, though we don't know exactly when. What grabs me right away is how Modigliani uses such a limited palette to convey so much. It’s all about the process, right? How one color interacts with another, how the brush moves across the surface. I find myself drawn to the texture in the dark background. It's thick, almost sculptural, which is in contrast to the smooth planes of the figure. Look at the way the red is laid on, thin in some places, allowing the canvas to peek through, and denser in others, creating subtle shifts in tone. The dark outline which defines the features has a graphic quality that emphasizes the overall flatness of the image. It is a really interesting tension between the figure and the space around it. Modigliani’s reductive approach to form reminds me of Constantin Brancusi’s sculptures. Both artists strip away the superfluous, searching for the essence of their subject. It’s a reminder that art is always in conversation with itself, each artist building upon the ideas of those who came before, and together creating new ways of seeing the world.