In this article
Meet the painter
Begin with the palette at the left. Its patches of colour sit beside a face built from long curves and narrow features. Follow the shoulder towards the turned head, then look at the hand resting lower down. Modigliani presents himself with the tools of his work, seated rather than standing before an easel.
The Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo records this self-portrait as a painting of 1919, made in oil on canvas. It measures 100 by 64.5 centimetres and has accession number 1963.2.16. [1] The upright canvas gives the seated figure room to fill almost the entire view.
Follow the line
Look at the curve running from the forehead towards the chin. Compare it with the straighter divisions in the background and the chair at the right. The face tilts, while those surrounding edges give you a firmer set of directions. Follow one line at a time before taking in the portrait as a whole.
Technical examination gives that looking another dimension. The 2019 study of the painting reports graphite traces around the nose, mouth and ear, while the hands are described as more loosely worked. [2] Move your attention from the face to the hand below: the change in precision becomes a useful way into the image.
A palette inside the painting
The painted palette is more than an identifying prop. Researchers examined its colours alongside those in the rest of the portrait and found that the pigments on the depicted palette also occurred in the composition. [2] Try matching a small patch on the palette with a colour elsewhere in the picture.
The study identified ultramarine and Prussian blue, and found greens made from mixtures of blue and yellow pigments. [2] A colour that appears simple at first glance can have several ingredients. Looking between the palette, collar and background lets you follow colour as part of the painter’s work.
Beneath the finished surface
An infrared image in the study reveals a thin drawn arch beneath part of the background. The authors suggest either an earlier composition beneath the portrait or a background devised to experiment with colour. [2] The finished rectangular divisions are one stage in a process of drawing and painting.
Tate drew on technical research into this self-portrait when developing its 2017 virtual reconstruction of Modigliani’s final Paris studio. Its team worked with MAC USP and The Metropolitan Museum of Art to investigate materials and methods. [3] The portrait became a way to explore how an artist worked, as well as what he looked like.
A painting with an international history
MoMA’s 1951 Modigliani exhibition catalogue reproduced this self-portrait and listed it as lent by Mr and Mrs Francisco Matarazzo Sobrinho of São Paulo. [5] Its plate lets you recognise the same turned face, palette and chair in an earlier presentation of the painting.
MAC USP’s current record credits the donation of Yolanda Penteado and Francisco Matarazzo Sobrinho. [1] Gustavo Brognara’s institutional history describes the donations through which a modern-art collection became part of the University of São Paulo in the 1960s. [4] The portrait’s Brazilian home belongs to that wider story of collecting and public access.
Return to the palette
Return to the first patch of colour that caught your eye. Follow it into the portrait, then back to the hand that holds the palette. The object brings the painter’s face and his materials into the same small space.
Now compare the tilt of the head with the upright edge behind it. You can move between the portrait’s curves, straight lines and colour patches without settling on a single explanation of his expression. The painting gives you several routes back to the person making it.
Common questions
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When did Modigliani paint this self-portrait?
MAC USP dates the painting to 1919. [1]
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Where is it held?
It belongs to the Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo, accession 1963.2.16. [1]
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What is Modigliani holding?
He holds a painter’s palette. The technical study compared the pigments in its painted colours with those elsewhere in the portrait. [2]
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What did infrared examination reveal?
The study reports graphite traces in the face and a drawn arch beneath the background. It discusses more than one explanation for that arch. [2]
Prints by Amedeo Modigliani are available. View the collection →
