Portrait of Moise Kisling - Amedeo Modigliani

A 1915 portrait of the artist Moise Kisling by Amedeo Modigliani, featuring the painter's signature elongated style and warm, earthy colour palette.

Amedeo Modigliani painted this portrait of his friend and fellow artist, Moise Kisling, in 1915. The work captures the subject with the characteristic stylistic choices that define Modigliani's mature period in Paris. The composition focuses on the head and shoulders, presenting a frontal view that emphasises the elongated facial structure and simplified features typical of the artist's approach to portraiture.

Modigliani employs a muted, earthy palette, dominated by ochre, terracotta, and deep brown tones. These colours create a sense of warmth while maintaining a sombre, introspective mood. The brushwork is visible and textured, contributing to the tactile quality of the surface. The subject's eyes are rendered with minimal detail, yet they convey a distinct sense of presence. The nose is straight and narrow, leading down to a small, tightly drawn mouth. The neck is slightly elongated, a recurring motif in Modigliani's work that draws inspiration from both African sculpture and the Italian Renaissance tradition.

In the upper right corner, the artist has inscribed the name 'KISLING' alongside his own signature and the date. This inclusion of text is integrated into the background, which remains largely abstract and non-descriptive. The subject wears a dark jacket with a white collar and a small red accent at the throat, providing a subtle contrast to the surrounding warm tones. This portrait offers a direct encounter with one of the figures of the Montparnasse circle, reflecting the close personal and professional relationships among the artists living in Paris during the early twentieth century. The work remains a clear example of how Modigliani balanced formal abstraction with the psychological observation of his sitters.