Young Girl in a Striped Shirt 1917

This is Modigliani’s "Young Girl in a Striped Shirt." It’s oil on canvas, with a palette of soft browns, grays, and whites, punctuated by the dark tie. You can almost feel Modigliani feeling his way around the canvas here, adding the stripes and curves, seeing how the face gradually emerges from the ground. It feels like he’s figuring it out as he goes along, which is totally relatable as a painter. What was he thinking when he painted this young girl? The paint is applied in thin layers, almost like watercolor, which gives the painting a delicate quality. The vertical strokes of the brush animate the background. It's like the painting is breathing. The subtle way he captures light and shadow across the face, and the delicate curve of her neck makes me think of other painters like Cezanne, who were also trying to capture something about the human condition through paint. We are all in conversation with one another, sharing ideas, getting inspired, and pushing each other forward. And that’s what makes painting so exciting.