idealization), or voluptuousness, as
in paintings by Renoir. She is an
individual rather than a type.
The effect is instantaneous, as if
no process of contemplation or
consideration of technical aim in–
terfered with the painter's per–
ception of the subject. The atti–
tude and expression of her body
are the direct object of his study.
In the composition, a stately ara–
besque, the individual eccentricity
of his style, so evident in other
paintings, seems to be supremely
subordinated to the direct intent
of rendering fully his conception.
Or, more accurately, his style, in
this painting, seems to have con–
ceived the subject in a composi–
tion so satisfactory that the empha–
sis of style in itself was not a
necessity. This, perhaps, is a way
of defining a masterpiece. The sub–
ject and the technique become ful–
ly appropriate to each other .
The economy of means and the
instantaneous effect of the paint–
ing remind one of Flaubert. The
"realism" of the effect is achieved
through a highly selective group–
ing of strong contrasts brought
into relations of tension which, by
their intrinsic interest, do not ap–
pear contrived. The viewer fills the
interstices of the tensions with
his own desires. The technique is
such that the attractiveness of the
elements, the line and color, pro–
vide irreducible invitations·-en–
ticements. Viewing the painting,
like reading Flaubert, is an ex–
perience of being artfully and ele-
125
gandy led into the plot of passion.
You are not only led in-you are
led through it-and out. At the
end you are thrown back finally
upon yourself. This is the quality
of form.
We know, however, that unlike
Flaubert, Modigliani did not work
in an atmosphere of leisure and
comfort, nor was he able to create
his paintings with a sense of slow,
painstaking perfection. Compared
to Flaubert, Modigliani had to
"throw off" his paintings, creating
them "quickly" in the interims of
calm that came at the summits of
reckless sensual indulgence. In his
mode of life, extreme repletion and
extreme privation were comple–
mentary.
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PARTISAN REVIEW
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