‘Homme à la barbe’, from 1908, is an early drawing from when Modigliani moved to the Montparnasse area of Paris. Here he found himself not only with a wealth of inspiration from his environment but also an artistic community that included Picasso, de Chirico, Brancusi and Mondrian. Modigliani was known to be constantly drawing from life, be it people he met on the street, in his studio or in the cafes and bars; in Montparnasse subjects were plentiful.

These first years in Montparnasse mark a time in which Modigliani’s art matured and he developed his distinctive signature style. In ‘Homme à la barbe’ the visual language that is so synonymous with Modigliani’s work is seen in the man’s elongated nose, almond eyes and sloping curved shoulders. Modigliani created a number of ink drawings of this male sitter, who bears a striking resemblance to the figure in his famed 1909 oil painting ‘The Violoncellist’.

The block of ink to the left of the man’s head is a technique found in a number of the artist’s drawings from his nudes to Cycladic heads. As in ‘Homme à la barbe’ he commonly applied this area to around of the face in order to highlight and give depth. Modigliani’s elegant use of brush and ink reflects his desire in his art to capture the essence of someone using the simplest possible means.

As one of the most highly revered and sought after artists in the world, Modigliani’s work is found in many museums and galleries. His drawings are an important part of his oeuvre, but not plentiful due to his troubled early death, with examples now in MoMA, New York; Museo Reina Sofía, Madrid and Tate, London to name but a few.