Portrait of Moise Kisling 1915

Modigliani painted this portrait of Moise Kisling with oil on canvas. Imagine Modigliani’s hand moving across the canvas, building the image through layers of thin paint and intuitive marks. It’s like he’s feeling his way through the painting. The deep blues of Kisling’s shirt are so rich and vibrant, contrasting against the warmer tones of the background. I wonder if Modigliani was trying to capture something essential about Kisling’s personality, maybe a certain intensity or thoughtfulness. The way he elongates the neck and simplifies the features is so characteristic of his style. You see it echoed in other portraits of the time. The redness, in the background and particularly the slash in the blue shirt, really speaks to the passion of the artist, and the sitter. It’s as if he has bottled his essence on to the canvas, and we are privileged enough to witness it now. Painting is like a conversation across time, and Modigliani certainly had something important to say.