Woman's Head with Beauty Spot 1906

This small portrait, Woman's Head with Beauty Spot, was painted by Modigliani sometime in the early 20th century. Immediately, you're struck by the earthy colors, the browns and reds that blend and separate like a memory. Modigliani wasn’t trying to give us a photograph. Look closer and you see the texture, like dry earth, built from countless small strokes. The paint isn't smooth; it’s almost gritty. He lets the canvas show through, as if the figure is emerging from the ground. I particularly like how he renders the eyes, dark and almond-shaped, but not quite aligned, and the beauty spot adds a touch of character to her symmetrical features. There is something about the darkness of the eyes that pierces through the layers of paint. Modigliani, like Picasso, was deeply influenced by non-Western art, particularly African masks. You sense it here in the simplified forms, elongated face, and the way he flattens the space, which reminds us that a painting is always an object in itself, and not just a window onto the world.