Woman in Black Tie, 1917 by Amedeo Modigliani

This painting, Woman in a Black Tie, is one of the few other works by Modigliani emanate such a mysterious gaze as strongly as this portrait. The artist explained to Leopold Survage that it was an intensely introspective gaze, one similar to those found in images of the pharaoh Akhenaton or in the Charioteer of Delphi, which so fascinated Modigliani. This effect in painting - achieved in sculpture more readily by the character of the materials - enhances the model's remoteness, inviting the viewer to ponder the viability of communication between human beings. The same question is at the foundation of the metaphysical painting of Giorgio de Chirico, another Italian artist.