Woman Sitting in Blue Dress 1919

Amedeo Modigliani made this painting of a ‘Woman Sitting in Blue Dress’ with oil on canvas. I'm curious about this kind of face—the almond eyes, the long nose, the pursed lips. It’s a face that seems to float serenely, detached from the world. I wonder if Modigliani knew her? Did he see a certain elegance or melancholy in her features that he wanted to capture? I can imagine him standing before the canvas, brush in hand, carefully mixing shades of blue and grey to create the subtle gradations of her dress. That dress is almost a black hole—absorbing all light. You can see the paint is applied thinly, allowing the texture of the canvas to peek through. Then there are the hands! Pink and soft. And I can imagine the artist taking a step back, squinting his eyes, and tilting his head, thinking about how to capture that elusive quality of human presence. Painters are always in conversation with each other. And Modigliani certainly contributes his own voice with this painting.