Female head

Mediums: limestone.
Location: the Tate Modern Gallery, London (the UK).

The original title of the work is “Tête”. This is one of those early sculptures that Modigliani made as a student of C. Brancusi, who greatly encouraged Amedeo to engage in stone carving. In total, the beginning sculptor completed about thirty small figures, most of which were heads. This female head is one of the largest – almost 90 cm tall. The master eclectically borrowed the features from African masks, medieval carvings and Khmer authentic sculptures. These sources represented the spiritual expression which Modigliani sought and which he considered to be perfect.