Modigliani, Amedeo (1884-1920)
Nu féminin assis (Seated Female Nude)
c.1916
Oil on canvas, 92.4 x 59.8 cm
Courtauld Institute of Art, London
This is one of a series of celebrated female nudes which Modigliani painted in 1916 and 1917. His unusual and powerful depiction incorporates a wide range of artistic influences. For example, the woman’s elongated face relates to Egyptian, African and Oceanic sculpture, which he studied at the ethnographic museum in Paris. When a group Modigliani’s nudes were first shown at the Berthe Weill Gallery in Paris, police closed the exhibition, citing the depiction of pubic hair in some of the paintings as obscene. (Courtauld)