Girl with Blue Eyes

Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (also known as “Modi” or “Dedo” to family and friends) was born in Livorno, Italy, on the east coast near Pisa. In Girl with Blue Eyes, as well as in other portraits, a distancing effect invites looking beyond the image’s surface to discover its secrets. This depiction of the face and upper torso of an apparently young girl with unblemished, unlined face; rosy cheeks; a full-lipped, red mouth; and the almond-shaped, closely set eyes is characteristic of many Modigliani’s portraits. Girl with Blue Eyes was painted during World War I, when the artist lived in Nice (1918–19) during the German occupation of Paris. According to biographer Jeffrey Meyers, the sitter is probably an unnamed child in Nice since Modigliani did not have access to adult models during this period.