Modigliani’s inspiration
Mali 1998
I call this portrait Modigliani’s Inspiration because this woman has a long, oval-shaped face. Modigliani’s portraits were noted for elongated faces. Although he did not go to Africa, he was inspired by African art with its stylized human forms. In the late 1800’s a plethora of African sculpture was imported to Europe and displayed in many museums. Matisse, Picasso, Cezanne all were influenced by the art of Africa.
I’ve printed this portrait in my darkroom using a fine art contrast, but today I wanted to do something different. This high-key look emphasizes her direct gaze. She wears a colorful cotton print dress and matching head covering. The dress could be called a mu-mu or a Mother Hubbard. The dresses always had a large opening for the neck and slid off one shoulder or the other which didn’t seem to annoy the Mandingo women they way I think it would annoy me.