Paul Guillaume, Novo Pilota (canvas without frame)

Amedeo Modigliani was the painter of women he revolutionised female iconography, his elongated figures with absent eyes borrowed from Mannerist and lyrical aesthetics. Born in Italy, he arrived in Paris in 1906 and entered the circles of the bohemian Montmartre. It was with sculpture that he began his career, just like his friend Brancusi, Modigliani's sculptures were inspired by African art. He later abandoned this technique for health and economic reasons. Modigliani lived in poverty, he was a prolific painter but he sold little despite the protection and patronage of the art dealer Paul Guillaume. His career was dazzling, deteriorating in alcohol, volcanic liaisons and suffering from his misfortune, the artist died at the age of 35 from tuberculosis.