A young girl 1916

Amedeo Modigliani painted A young girl with oils, but the date is unknown. I love how he's used these simple, almost childlike shapes, but then complicated them with this really sophisticated palette. It's this mix of naivety and knowing that gets me every time! Look at the way he’s built up the paint, especially in the background. There’s this dark, almost murky quality, but then he’s let these little flecks of colour peek through. You can almost feel the brushstrokes, like he was really wrestling with the paint to get it just right. And then there’s the girl’s face, those almond-shaped eyes, and that slightly elongated nose. It’s so stylized, but also so full of emotion. For me the color of her face is the key to this piece, like the heat of youth is radiating off the canvas. Modigliani reminds me of Paula Modersohn-Becker, but he has his own distinct vision. Both artists were trying to capture something essential about the human spirit. It’s what keeps me coming back to their work, again and again.