Jeanne Hebuterne with white collar 1919

Curator: Let’s turn our attention to this striking portrait, “Jeanne Hébuterne with White Collar,” painted by Amedeo Modigliani in 1919. He rendered this oil painting in his instantly recognizable, elongated style. What’s your first impression? Editor: Immediately, the melancholy grabs you, right? Those almond eyes seem to be holding back a sea of unshed tears. It feels intimate, like catching a fleeting glimpse of someone lost in their thoughts. And that impossibly long neck – it’s pure Modigliani, a graceful, almost swan-like fragility. Curator: It’s interesting you pick up on the melancholy. When viewed through the lens of the patriarchal structures prevalent during that period, Hébuterne, who was also an artist, often found her identity subsumed within Modigliani’s narrative, an idea further complicated by her tragic end. The title, merely identifying her by the clothes she wears, emphasizes this depersonalization, rendering her an object rather than a subject with agency. Editor: Wow, that's heavy. I was seeing it as an expression of personal sadness, almost like a mirror reflecting my own inner turmoil. Now that you mention it, though, I see how she seems to be…diminished by the setting. It’s like the artist saw her less as an individual and more as, sadly, as another painting to be made. Still a lovely thing, but so much sadness. Curator: Her story is intrinsically intertwined with Modernism's struggle to liberate itself from conventional forms, not just artistically but socially. Her portrait here speaks to broader issues of representation, particularly of female artists, within a society struggling with its own evolving identity, teetering on the precipice of immense cultural and social change. Editor: Art is a constant wrestling match with how to be free. When Modigliani paints Hébuterne, is it through that lense of being unbound by life, and instead living by passion and obsession. Her features seem unfinished, fleeting. What can we hold onto forever anyway? Only that longing gaze is caught there with oil paint. Curator: This painting truly operates on multiple layers. Thanks for bringing your own unique sensibility to understanding the painting’s personal and social dimensions! Editor: It’s fascinating, isn’t it? It keeps shifting and offering new feelings; just keep looking at those almond eyes. Art as feeling: perfect!