Portrait of Lunia Czechowska 1918

Amedeo Modigliani painted this portrait of Lunia Czechowska, using oil on canvas, with a rich ochre, umber and emerald colour palette. I love the way Modigliani reduces form to such simple, striking elements. He doesn’t fuss around with detail. The paint has so much body in the sitter’s white shirt, built up with thick impasto. I can almost feel the texture of the brushstrokes. Then, in contrast, look at the paper thin washes of colour in her face. It’s all about the push and pull between these material qualities. The long elegant curve of her nose and the almond shape of her cool blue eyes are so iconic. It feels like Modigliani is distilling her essence through these forms. It reminds me of the portraits by Marie Laurencin, who was working around the same time. Both artists had a similar knack for capturing a kind of melancholy beauty. Art’s like this ongoing conversation, right? Always riffing off each other, never really offering us any easy answers.