Head of Anatolia

Head of Anatolia is a significant drawing created by Amedeo Modigliani Italian, 1884-1920, sometime between 1900 and 1920. Classified as a preparatory or stand-alone drawing, the work utilizes pen and brown ink, applied alongside graphite, upon tan wove paper. This piece exemplifies the artist’s characteristic reduction of form and extreme elongation of the human head, central to the mature aesthetic Modigliani developed during his residence in Paris among the avant-garde.

The drawing technique focuses almost entirely on contour lines, defining the facial features with an economy of line that achieves both abstraction and psychological depth. Modigliani frequently employed this intense focus on draftsmanship as a method to refine the forms seen later in his oil paintings and sculptures. The limited palette inherent in the brown ink and graphite highlights the absolute mastery of line over color. While the piece is firmly rooted in the Modernist movement, the simplified, elegant composition and the neck's columnar quality subtly nod to the classical tradition inherited from his cultural origins in Italy.

The subject is rendered with the signature almond-shaped eyes and flattened perspective common throughout the artist's oeuvre. This work offers valuable insight into Modigliani’s process during the pivotal years of 1900-1920. This important record of 20th-century draftsmanship is now housed in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. As many works by Modigliani from this era have entered the public domain, the public accessibility allows students and scholars to acquire high-quality prints and study the Italian master's innovative approach to portraiture.