Little Servant Girl

The first painting by Modigliani to enter the Institute's collection, The Little Servant Girl is typical of the genre portraits he produced during the years 1915 through 1920. Influenced by Cezanne's portraits, Modigliani developed a unique style characterized by exaggerated forms and elongated features. He used broad areas of color to great spatial effect and distorted features for the sake of aesthetic beauty. Preoccupied with line, he sought to create the abstract by rendering only a few necessary details realistically, emphasizing swift suggestion rather than precise definition. Through his eyes, prostitutes, servants, friends, and the children of the Montparnasse were treated with equal importance; indeed, he provided each of them with an elegant poise, exemplified here with the folded hands and dignified bearing of this otherwise anonymous Parisian girl.