Anna Zborowska was the wife of Leopold Zborowska, Modigliani’s patron and good friend, who greatly aided the struggling artist during his final years of ill-health. It is believed that Anna Zborowska played an important part in guiding Modigliani’s artistic output, though the artist has chosen not to depict with a great level of affection. The dark, sombre mood of the canvas is only lightened by the hint of a smile on the sitter’s face, as she appears to pose somewhat awkwardly. It is reported that she was unpopular with Modigliani’s friends.
The 1917 canvas of Mme. Zborowska demonstrates the style of portraiture for which Modigliani would become most associated with after his posthumous rise as an artist of considerable importance in the avant-garde school. The typical conventions of the 1917-1919 portraits feature figures of pronounced mannerism, where the faces and body postures of sitters would be represented in strong diagonal angles. Though their features are portrayed less stylistically, Modigliani employs intense elongation of his subjects, with strongly pronounced lines, eschewing any tendency towards naturalism.