Burgundian Woman 1918

Amedeo Modigliani painted "Burgundian Woman" with oil on canvas. The painting is a process; you put the paint down and then you have to respond to it. Here, we can see that Modigliani's mark-making is quite economical, using a limited palette of earthy tones and a smooth, almost porcelain-like finish, which gives the painting a certain dreaminess. Look at how the black paint of the woman's dress merges with the background, creating a flattened space. Then there are those almond-shaped eyes, filled with a cool blue that doesn't quite sit within the bounds of the form, so they seem to float on the surface of her face. What does it mean to paint someone without really seeing them? Is this a portrait of an individual, or an idea? Modigliani's style reminds me of some of Paula Modersohn-Becker's portraits, where the figures have a similar sense of simplicity and emotional distance. Painting is a conversation across time. There are no fixed answers.