Monsieur Lepoutre, 1916 by Amedeo Modigliani

Modigliani's use of pale, chalky colours is mainly associated with his stay in the South of France in 1918, but occasionally is seen in earlier works. Here the pale colours are matched by an unusually tentative, broken drawing of the features, so that the image is a convincing parallel with the fading of old age. Modigliani's colour sense constantly reminds us of his Italian origin. He did not really have to submit to the influence of Cezanne or the light of the Midi in order to return to the dry ochreous colours of the south.