Boy in a Blue Shirt 1918

Amedeo Modigliani made this painting of a Boy in a Blue Shirt, likely in oil on canvas. Look at that blue, it’s almost green. And the boy, hunched, a little sad, a little lost in thought. I can imagine Modigliani in his studio, mixing his paints, trying to capture the essence of this boy's quiet mood. The paint looks thin, almost translucent in places, and the surface has a waxy sheen. I wonder what Modigliani was thinking as he painted. Was he also once a boy in a blue shirt? What were his own feelings about the young man sitting before him? The tilt of the boy’s head, the way his hands rest in his lap, it all speaks to a certain vulnerability, a kind of melancholy. The brushstrokes are gentle, almost tender. It's like he's trying to capture a fleeting moment, a feeling that might disappear if he looks away for too long. And now it is here, for us all to see.