Modigliani - The young woman with a sailor collar

An astonishing portraitist, a sculptor in his spare time, a friend of Picasso and Apollinaire, influenced by the Italian Renaissance and classicism, Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920) left a mysterious body of work that revolutionized the iconography of women. He was greatly influenced by the representations of Venus of the Italian Renaissance. And his legend is matched only by the rarity of his work: 25 sculptures and around 400 paintings.

His formative years took him from Tuscany to Venice, before settling in Paris in 1906, then the European capital of the artistic avant-garde. Between Montmartre and Montparnasse, "Modi" became one of the figures of Parisian bohemia. Today, his paintings (especially nudes) reach record prices at auction. Modigliani, who lived in poverty, is today one of the most expensive artists in the world.

The young woman with the sailor collar, with her elongated face, almond-shaped eyes, small mouth and long neck, remains emblematic of modern art of this period. From March 1918 to May 1919, Modigliani, ill, lived in the south of France, mainly in Nice, to recuperate in a healthy climate. Lacking his usual coterie of friends, he employed young local servants, shop assistants and children as models.

The young woman with the sailor collar, 1918