Red Nude

A nude woman reclines across the canvas against a warm red ground, her elongated, sensuous body and serene mask-like face filling the frame, eyes closed in languid self-possession. Amedeo Modigliani fused the simplifications of African sculpture with the reclining Venuses of the Italian Renaissance to create his unmistakable nudes. So frank were they that police shut down his only solo exhibition for indecency. Now in a private collection, the Red Nude is among the most celebrated of the series - sensual, modern, and elegantly stylized, the female form distilled into pure flowing line and warm color.