Burgundian Woman 1918

This is Modigliani’s "Burgundian Woman" with its earthy palette and elongated neck. I can imagine him working on this piece, trying to capture the essence of his sitter with his signature style. The way he uses color here, with those rosy cheeks popping against the darker background, makes you feel like you're right there in the room with her. And those almond-shaped eyes, they seem to be looking right through you, don't they? Modigliani’s style is quite distinct but you can sense the influence of other painters of his generation. You see a bit of Cézanne in the way he simplifies the forms and a hint of Picasso in the stylized features. Like any painter, Modigliani's work wasn’t created in a vacuum. He was in conversation with all the artists of the time.