Head of a Woman (Anna Zborowska)

Not surprisingly, Modigliani's drawings between 1912 and 1915 reflect some influence of Cubism, then the dominant style of Paris. At this time the contours of forms described were not completely closed, so that form and space interpenetrate one another. For a while Modigliani favoured a device reminiscent of Delaunay's orphist style, and rendered backgrounds in faceted forms that themselves seem to emanate like rays from the figure. By 1917, Modigliani had re-simplified his vocabulary and established a way of drawing that was to serve him until his early death in 1920. The face of Portrait of a Woman retains some characteristics of the 'cubist' works - most notably the asymmetrical eyes - but the rest of the drawing consists of a few deft lines through which the artist attempted to convey as much as possible with the minimum of information. Variations of this naturalistic and relaxed pose were used repeatedly by the artist for his studies of clothed women.

Entry taken from Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Collection 3 volume catalogue, edited by Steven Hooper (Yale University Press, 1997).

Historic Period: 20th century

Production Place: Europe, France

Credit: Donated by Robert and Lisa Sainsbury, 1973