Meeting Point 08: B&E Goulandris Foundation
Amedeo Modigliani, Caryatid, circa 1914Â
Pencil and gouache on paper laid down on canvas
63,7 Ă— 40 cm, Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation Collection
Creative Audio Description MP08 ( / - x )
Creative description
Amedeo Modigliani’s “Caryatid” is a painting from around 1914 depicting a nude female figure kneeling on the surface of a column. Executed in pencil and gouache (a type of watercolour) on paper mounted on canvas, the female figure and the surface of the column are depicted in relief. The painting measures just over half a metre in height and just under half a metre in width.
The body of the “Caryatid” exhibits a pronounced rotation to the right. The arms are raised to the left of the head, which is slightly inclined over the left shoulder. Visible are the head and the raised hand supporting an indeterminate semicircular object, the pronounced curves of the body, the breasts, the abdomen, and the bent legs. The right foot is firmly planted on the column, while the left foot is kneeling, supporting the body.
The skin is depicted in shades of orange, sharply contrasting with the blue colour surrounding the outline of the figure. The face, reminiscent of a mask or a Cycladic figurine, features the almond-shaped eyes, the arched eyebrows, and a delicate nose, revealing Modigliani’s characteristic aesthetic influenced by Japanese art. Her forehead is adorned with curls, and her expression exudes calm and serenity. The background is a vague palette of blue, beige and orange.
Unlike the traditional representation of the Caryatid in sculpture, typically a sturdy, static female figure in an upright position supporting an object with her head, Modigliani’s “Caryatid” is depicted kneeling, her body flexible, in intense rotation. Neither strictly woman nor statue, this version of the Caryatid evokes both her Greek sisters from the Erechtheion on the Acropolis and her African cousins, with faces resembling masks. Like many of the artist’s female figures, “Caryatid” pays homage to the female gender.
Photos from Meeting Point 08: B&E Goulandris Foundation
The creative description of the artwork “Caryatid” by Amedeo Modigliani is the result of co-creation by the participants in Meeting Point 08: B&E Goulandris Foundation.
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