Alice
Amedeo Modigliani
1918. Oil on canvas. 78.5 x 39 cm cm. National Gallery of Denmark, Copenhagen.
Painted around 1918, "Alice" is one of the most poignant and celebrated portraits from Amedeo Modigliani’s late period. The canvas depicts a young girl dressed in a blue Sunday dress with a gold cross on her chest, staring directly at the viewer with large, almond-shaped eyes. Her face is highly stylized, closely resembling an African mask—a definitive hallmark of Modigliani's visual language, which was deeply influenced by tribal and archaic sculpture. The luminous quality of the blue attire, symbolizing youth and innocence, contrasts sharply with the rich terracotta skin tones and the muted, slate-blue background. The generalized contours and serene expression imbue the sitter with an idol-like, timeless solemnity and spiritual presence. In 1928, the painting was donated to the National Gallery of Denmark (Statens Museum for Kunst) in Copenhagen, where it remains on permanent display.