Caryatid 1913

Amedeo Modigliani made this drawing, Caryatid, with pencil and gouache, likely in Paris in the 1910s. The caryatid, a supporting female figure derived from ancient Greek architecture, was a recurring motif in his work. Here, the figure is reduced to a series of simplified, curving forms, rendered in warm hues against a cool blue background. As modernism took hold in Europe, artists sought to break free from academic traditions. The early twentieth-century Parisian art world, with its diverse community of artists, galleries, and patrons, provided an environment ripe for experimentation. Modigliani’s interest in non-Western art, like African masks, and the primitivism movement also reflects a rejection of established European artistic conventions. Historical sources, like letters and exhibition reviews, help us understand how these movements influenced artists like Modigliani and how his work challenged the prevailing social and cultural norms of his time.