Portrait of Picasso 1915

Amedeo Modigliani painted this portrait of Picasso in oil on canvas, but when is anyone's guess. Modigliani's marks feel like they are searching, unsure. In the background, you see pale washes of blue and white paint. He uses a very limited color palette, mostly browns, creams, and blacks to create the portrait. The paint application is thin, almost transparent in places, so the texture of the canvas still shows through. You can see thin black lines which describe the contour of the face, that feels tender and searching. There's a scumble of brown across the skin. It's like he's trying to find the form by rubbing at it. Modigliani has also written the word "Picasso" and "Savoir" around the head of the figure. It’s like a halo of words or a thought bubble, capturing something essential about the subject. Modigliani's handling of paint seems to anticipate the work of artists like Francis Picabia. What they share is that kind of playful, almost nonchalant attitude towards representation, using the medium of paint in a way that embraces experimentation over perfection.