Portrait of Madame Dorival 1916

Modigliani painted this portrait of Madame Dorival, probably in oil, with an economy of means that speaks volumes about process. The canvas is built up of thin layers, letting the warm ground peek through. Look at the way the peachiness of her cheeks is achieved with these transparent layers, and see how they bleed into the slightly curdled surface texture. The painting feels aged, but not in a bad way. There's something appealingly imperfect, even vulnerable, about its condition. It’s like a metaphor for the passage of time, not just for the sitter, but for the painting itself. The single pendant hanging from her neck has a muted shimmer, as if to emphasize the material realness of the figure. For me, this piece speaks to the ongoing conversation between artists like, say, Manet and Alice Neel, all of whom are trying to capture something real and raw about the human condition. Art's not about answers, it's about keeping the questions alive.