Lola de Valence (1915)

Modigliani, Amedeo (1884-1920)

Lola de Valence
1915
Oil on paper, mounted on wood, 52.1 × 33.7 cm
Metropolitan Museum of ArtNew York

Modigliani consistently integrated stylistic features of African art into his distinctive portraits. This work represents Lola de Valence, a famous dancer who had previously modeled for Édouard Manet. Recalling a type of mask made in the French Congo, the head’s elongated shape and abstracted facial features also appear in Modigliani’s limestone sculpture Woman’s Head (MMA 1997.149.10). Although the artist had abandoned sculpture by 1914 to focus exclusively on painting, his African-inflected sculptural style remained a touchstone for his painted portraits until his death in 1920. (MET)

See also:

• Lola de Valence, née Dolores Melea