Portrait of Moise Kisling 1915

Modigliani made this painting of Moise Kisling, his fellow artist, in oil paint, but we don't know exactly when. Look at how Modigliani builds the portrait, not with clean lines, but with these repeated marks that seem to vibrate on the canvas. What I love about this painting is the way Modigliani approaches the materiality of paint. The blue of Kisling's shirt is thick, almost like a fresco, and so tactile you can almost feel the weave of the fabric. Then there is the way he models the face in soft, pale hues, a gentle curve suggesting the turn of the cheek, a subtle asymmetry that gives the portrait its character. See how the mark making gives the painting its energy. It’s a reminder that art is as much about the process, the doing, as it is about the image. Modigliani reminds me a little of El Greco in that way, both interested in elongating the figure, and distorting it in ways that are expressive and emotional rather than strictly representational.