Chakoska

Modigliani painted Chakoska in 1917, in a Paris emptied and rationed by the First World War, while he was living hand to mouth in Montparnasse and selling pictures for the price of a meal. She was one of his regular models. He painted her at least a dozen times from 1916 on, and like most of his sitters she comes out with the signature Modigliani look: a long, tilted neck, a smooth oval face narrowed almost to a mask, and eyes left as flat, pupil-less almonds. The background is nearly a single colour, brushed just enough to hold her in place. This is one of six Modiglianis in the São Paulo museum, all bought in the institution’s early years.