Giovanni Boldini (31 December 1842 – 11 January 1931) was an Italian genre and portrait painter who lived and worked in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

for most of his career. According to a 1933 article in ''Time'' magazine, he was known as the "Master of Swish" because of his flowing style of painting.

Early life

Boldini was born in

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

on 31 December 1842. He was the son of a painter of religious subjects, and the younger brother of architect Luigi (Louis) Boldini. In 1862, he went to

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

for six years to study and pursue painting. He only infrequently attended classes at the

Academy of Fine Arts The following is a list of notable art schools. Accredited non-profit art and design colleges * Adelaide Central School of Art * Alberta College of Art and Design * Art Academy of Cincinnati * Art Center College of Design * The Art Institute ...

, but in Florence, met other realist painters known as the

Macchiaioli The Macchiaioli () were a group of Italian painters active in Tuscany in the second half of the nineteenth century. They strayed from antiquated conventions taught by the Italian art academies, and did much of their painting outdoors in order to ...

, who were Italian precursors to

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passa ...

. Their influence is seen in Boldini's

landscapes A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the p ...

which show his spontaneous response to nature, although it is for his

portraits A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For thi ...

that he became best known.

Career

Moving to London, Boldini attained success as a portraitist. He completed portraits of distinguished members of society including Lady Holland and the Duchess of Westminster. From 1872 he lived in

, where he became a friend of

Edgar Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionism, Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, Printmaking, prints ...

. He became the most fashionable portrait painter in Paris in the late 19th century, with a dashing style of painting which shows some Macchiaioli influence and a brio reminiscent of the work of younger artists, such as

John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and more ...

and Paul Helleu. He was nominated commissioner of the Italian section of the Paris Exposition in 1889, and received the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

for this appointment.Steingräber, E., & Matteucci, G. (1984). ''The Macchiaioli: Tuscan Painters of the Sunlight : March 14-April 20, 1984''. New York: Stair Sainty Matthiesen in association with Matthiesen, London. p. 105. . In 1897 he had a solo exhibition in New York. He participated in the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

in 1895, 1903, 1905, and 1912. Boldini died in Paris on 11 January 1931. In a write up in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' in January 1931, his career was summed up as follows:

Boldini was a fashionable portrait painter. He 'did' all the grandes dames of Paris, and at a certain period to have a portrait painted by Boldini was a crowning event of social season. His style was racy and advanced for his time, and he believed that his
décolleté Cleavage is the narrow depression or hollow between the breasts of a woman. The superior portion of cleavage may be accentuated by clothing such as a low-cut neckline that exposes the division, and often the term is used to describe the low neckl ...
paintings touched the extreme limit of convention. His work was the talk of numerous salons. And then he was superseded by Vandongens and Etcheverrys and
Domergue Domergue is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Faith Domergue (1924–1999), American film actress *François-Urbain Domergue (1745–1810), French grammarian and journalist * Jacques Domergue (born 1953), French politician ...
s and others whose daring shocked and discouraged Boldini. He had not painted for many years before his death. His body was taken to Ferrara, his native city, for burial.

After his death, his work continued to be exhibited around the world. An exhibition of his work was held in 1938, seven years after his death, at the Newhouse Galleries in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Works

Giuseppe Verdi by Giovanni Boldini.jpg, '' Portrait of Giuseppe Verdi'', 1886 Giovanni Boldini (1842-1931) - A Portrait of John Singer Sargent.jpg, ''Portrait of

'', Montesquiou, Robert de - Boldini.jpg, ''Portrait of Robert de Montesquiou'', 1897 Boldini, Anita de la Ferie.jpg, ''Portrait of Anita de la Ferie'' (the Spanish Dancer), 1900 Giovanni Boldini (1842-1931), La Marchesa Luisa Casati (1881-1957) con un levriero.jpg, ''Portrait of La Marchesa Luisa Casati with greyhound'', 1908 Cécile Murat Ney d'Elchingen (1867-1960), by Giovanni Boldini.jpg, ''Portrait of the Princess Cécile Murat, Ney d'Elchingen'', 1910 Portrait of Rita de Acosta Lydig by Giovanni Boldini.jpg, ''Portrait of

Rita de Acosta Lydig Rita Hernandez de Alba de Acosta Stokes Lydig (October 1, 1875 – October 27, 1929) was an American socialite named by one observer as "the most picturesque woman in America." She was photographed by Adolf de Meyer, Edward Steichen, and Ge ...

'', 1911 Boldini Marthe de Florian.jpg, Portrait of the actress Marthe de Florian

In popular culture

Boldini is a character in the ballet '' Franca Florio, regina di Palermo'', written in 2007 by the Italian composer

Lorenzo Ferrero Lorenzo Ferrero (; born 1951) is an Italian composer, librettist, author, and book editor. He started composing at an early age and has written over a hundred compositions thus far, including twelve operas, three ballets, and numerous orchestral ...

, which depicts the story of Donna Franca, a famous Sicilian aristocrat whose exceptional beauty inspired him and many other artists, musicians, poets and emperors during the

Belle Époque The Belle Époque or La Belle Époque (; French for "Beautiful Epoch") is a period of French and European history, usually considered to begin around 1871–1880 and to end with the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Occurring during the era ...

. A Boldini portrait of his former muse Marthe de Florian, a French actress, was discovered in a Paris flat in late 2010, hidden away from view on the premises that were unvisited for over 50 years. The portrait has never been listed, exhibited or published and the flat belonged to de Florian's granddaughter, who inherited the flat after her father's death in 1966 and lived in the South of France after the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

and never returned to Paris. A love-note and a biographical reference to the work painted in 1888, when the actress was 24, cemented its authenticity. A full-length portrait of the lady in the same clothing and accessories, but less provocative, hangs in the

New Orleans Museum of Art The New Orleans Museum of Art (or NOMA) is the oldest fine arts museum in the city of New Orleans. It is situated within City Park, a short distance from the intersection of Carrollton Avenue and Esplanade Avenue, and near the terminus of the ...

. The discovery of his painting in the 70-years-empty apartment forms the background to Michelle Gable's 2014 novel '' A Paris Apartment''.

References

Sources

*T. Panconi, ''Boldini, L'uomo e la pittura'', Pisa (Italy) 1998 *E. Savoia (a cura di), ''Giovanni Boldini. Il dinamismo straordinario delle linee'', (catalogo della mostra), Bologna (Italy) 1999 *E. Savoia (a cura di), ''Omaggio a Giovanni Boldini'', (catalogo della mostra), Bologna (Italy) 2001 *T. Panconi, ''Giovanni Boldini, L'opera completa (Catalogo generale ragionato legale)'', Firenze (Italy) 2002 *P. Dini e F. Dini, ''Giovanni Boldini 1842-1931. Catalogo ragionato,'' Torino 2002 *E. Savoia (a cura di), ''G. Boldini. Dalla macchia alla sperimentazione dinamica'', (catalogo della mostra), Bologna (Italy) 2003 *T. Panconi, ''Boldini Mon Amour (catalogo della mostra, con presentazione del ministro per i beni culturali)'', Pisa (Italy) 2008 *E. Savoia (a cura di), ''Giovanni Boldini. Capolavori e opere inedite dall'atelier dell'artista'', (catalogo della mostra), Milano (Italy) 2011 *S. Bosi, E. Savoia, ''Giovanni Boldini. Il Narratore della "dolce vita" parigina'', Treviso, Antiga Edizioni 2011 *T. Panconi, S. Gaddi, ''Boldini e la Belle Epoque'' (catalogo della mostra), Milano (Italy) 2011 *S. Bosi, E. Savoia, ''La mostra di Giovanni Boldini del 1963 al Musée Jacquemart-André di Parigi da un album fotografico inedito'', Milano (Italy) 2011 *Boldini, Giovanni, Enzo Savoia, and Stefano Bosi. ''Giovanni Boldini. Capolavori e opere inedite dall'atelier dell'artista''. Crocetta del Montello: Antiga. 2011. *T. Panconi, S. Gaddi, ''Giovanni Boldini'' (catalogo della mostra di Roma - Venaria Reale To), Skira editore, Milano 2017

External links

*
Virtual Gallery and reference

Giovanni Boldini Macchiaioli museum, archive, expertise and reference77 works by Giovanni Boldini
biography at valutarte.it

at th
John Singer Sargent Virtual Gallery
at

ArtCyclopedia Artcyclopedia is an online database of museum-quality fine art founded by Canadian John Malyon. Information The Artcyclopedia only deals with art that can be viewed online, and indexes 2,300 art sites (from museums and galleries), with links to ...

Giovanni Boldini Gallery

The photo gallery with the best female portraits by Boldiniwikiart.org
Growing public domain of Boldini's paintings * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boldini, Giovanni 1842 births 1931 deaths 19th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 20th-century Italian painters Italian portrait painters Painters from Ferrara Recipients of the Legion of Honour Artists from Paris Italian emigrants to France 19th-century Italian male artists 20th-century Italian male artists