Beatrice Hastings 1915

Curator: Looking at this striking portrait, painted in 1915 by Amedeo Modigliani, we see Beatrice Hastings rendered in oil on canvas. Editor: She looks a bit… mournful? Or is it just world-weary? There’s a quiet intensity about her. And those almond-shaped eyes, almost Asian in their slant, are hypnotic. Curator: Hastings was Modigliani's lover and muse at the time. Viewing it now, we must consider the politics of representation inherent in the male gaze and how it might objectify its female subject. I think also about issues of agency for women within avant-garde circles during that period. Editor: Hmmm… agency. Maybe. But I see vulnerability, too. Modigliani simplifies her form, elongates her neck…almost like a swan about to take flight. Is he trapping her beauty, or releasing it? The brown shades wrapping her are, indeed, holding her. Curator: It’s fascinating that you note her extended neck, an element which has been widely examined in light of its relationship to, let's say, idealized notions of female beauty and also possible inspiration from African masks and other non-Western art forms appropriated by European modernists. Editor: Absolutely, yes. I’m drawn to the colours: those earth tones contrasted with her almost translucent skin… it gives her an ethereal, otherworldly quality. A fleeting beauty captured forever. And a certain lack of finishing that hints that capturing beauty can never happen. Curator: And don’t forget her gaze. How it subtly challenges the viewer to confront their own preconceived ideas and the socio-historical forces that shape our perceptions of women and art. I wonder, in which terms can it be established the dialogue between Modernism and identity politics in such a portrayal? Editor: Okay, well, for me, I am really just here to bask in the emotional honesty of it. Even a century later, you can still sense Modigliani's own inner landscape projected onto her face. Fascinating, indeed. Curator: An astute observation. Editor: Always a pleasure.