Reclining nude with Arms Folded under Her Head 1916

Amedeo Modigliani made this reclining nude with paint on canvas. Modigliani's paintings are all about line, aren't they? That curve of the back, that long elegant neck, it’s like he’s drawing with the brush. And those almond eyes! It’s as if he’s searching for something beyond the surface, trying to capture something essential. I love the way the paint sits on the canvas, thin, almost translucent in places, thicker in others. You can see the marks, the hesitations, the places where he reworked things. It's like a map of his thought process, a record of his looking. Look at the way he’s rendered the shadows, not with dark colors, but with subtle shifts in tone, it’s really skillful. Looking at this nude, I’m reminded of Matisse, that same love of line, that same joy in the act of painting. For me, art is this continuous conversation, a call and response across time.