Reclining nude 1917

Amedeo Modigliani made this 'Reclining Nude' painting with oils. Look at the colour, it’s a kind of fleshy orange, and it’s got this real directness in its mark making. It’s like he’s thinking through the painting process. The paint is thin and the surface is smooth, but there are these little striations, like you can see the movement of the brush. Her face is so interesting with those almond-shaped eyes, and that long nose. It’s like he’s playing with these different shapes. And that black background, it makes her body pop out, like she’s floating. This painting reminds me of Henri Matisse, there’s a similar interest in simplifying forms, and using colour to create a mood, but Modigliani has his own thing. It’s like he’s not trying to be realistic, he’s trying to capture something else, something more about the sensation of seeing.