Amedeo Modigliani: Reclining Nude from the Back (Nu couch?de dos); Amedeo Modigliani; 1917; Oil on canvas; This painting is part of a series of reclining nude figures that Modigliani began in 1917. Characterized by a frank; self-conscious sexuality; these nudes shocked contemporary audiences; one such work was removed by police from an exhibition in Paris for perceived impropriety. Also shocking was Modigliani's mixing together of several traditions across a single figure: while the masklike treatment of the face draws on the vocabularies of African sculpture; the languorous; sensual body recalls the nudes of European painters like Titian and Boucher.; Overall: 25 1/2 x 39 1/4 in. (64.8 x 99.7 cm)