Portrait of Anna Zborowska 1917

Amedeo Modigliani painted this portrait of Anna Zborowska with oils, and just look at how he lets his process show. You can see it in the way he lays down the paint, building up layers of color and texture to create this really evocative image. What I find so compelling is how Modigliani uses the materiality of paint, the thick, opaque blacks of her dress against the more transparent, reddish browns of the background. It’s almost like he’s sculpting with color. Check out the couch, or whatever it is she’s leaning on. You can see where he's scraped the surface to reveal underlayers, bringing depth and a real sense of lived-in time to the painting. It’s funny, this reminds me a little of Marsden Hartley. Both artists had a way of simplifying forms while keeping the physicality of the paint front and center. Neither artist is really trying to trick you into seeing something realistic, but something felt. Art is like a conversation, isn't it?