Benito
1916
Modigliani captures his friend Benito with those famous blank, almond-shaped eyes and an elongated face, giving the subject a dreamy, almost mask-like quality that became the artist's ultimate trademark. Dressed sharply in a wide-brimmed hat and bow tie, the figure exudes a quiet confidence typical of the bohemian Parisian circle in 1916. The sketch is warmly signed 'amicalement' (friendship) at the bottom, hinting at the close bond between the painter and his subject during a highly creative, albeit turbulent, period in modern art history.
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