Giovanni Boldini
Giovanni Boldini (31 December 1842 – 11 July 1931) was an Italian genre and portrait painter who lived and worked in Paris 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.[1]
Giovanni Boldini | |
|---|---|
 Photographic portrait of Giovanni Boldini (1910) | |
| Born | 31 December 1842 |
| Died | 11 July 1931 (aged 88) |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Education | Academy of Fine Arts of Florence |
| Known for | Painting |
| Movement | Macchiaioli |
| Awards | Legion of Honour |
| Patron(s) | Diego Martelli, Goupil & Cie |
Life and career
Boldini was born in Ferrara, the son of a painter of religious subjects, and in 1862 went to Florence for six years to study and pursue painting. He only infrequently attended classes at the Academy of Fine Arts, but in Florence, met other realist painters known as the Macchiaioli, who were Italian precursors to Impressionism. Their influence is seen in Boldini's landscapes which show his spontaneous response to nature, although it is for his portraits that he became best known.
Moving to London, Boldini attained success as a portraitist. He completed portraits of premier members of society including Lady Holland and the Duchess of Westminster.[2] From 1872 he lived in Paris, where he became a friend of Edgar Degas. 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 and Paul Helleu. He was nominated commissioner of the Italian section of the Paris Exposition in 1889, and received the Légion d'honneur for this appointment.[3]
In 1897 he had a solo exhibition in New York.[3] He participated in the Venice Biennale in 1895, 1903, 1905, and 1912.[3] He died in Paris on 11 July 1931.
Legacy
Giovanni Boldini is a character in the ballet Franca Florio, regina di Palermo, written in 2007 by the Italian composer Lorenzo Ferrero, 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.
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 and never returned to Paris.[4][5] 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 discovery of his painting in the 70-years-empty apartment forms the background to Michelle Gable's 2014 novel A Paris Apartment.[6]
Paintings
| Year | Title | Image | Collection | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1865 | Self-Portrait, oil on canvas | view | Galleria d'Arte Moderna in Palazzo Pitti, Florence | Subject: Giuseppe Boldini |
| 1873 | The Model and the Mannequin, oil on panel |  | Private | |
| 1873 | The Guitar Player, oil on canvas |  | Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute at Williamstown, United States | |
| 1873 | Gossip, oil on wood |  |
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City | |
| 1875 | Ladies of the First Empire | view | Vanderbilt collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art | |
| 1875 | A Lute Player and a Listener, oil on canvas |  | Private | |
| 1878 | Lady admiring a Fan |  | Butterfly Institute Fine Art (Gallery), Lugano | |
| 1878 | Newspaperman in Paris (The newspaper) |  | ||
| 1879 | The Dispatch-Bearer (c. 1879), oil on wood |  | Metropolitan Museum of Art | |
| 1884 | The Worldly Singer (La cantante mondana) |  | Museo Boldini, Ferrara | |
| ca 1885 | The Actress Rejane and her Dog, oil on canvas |  | Private | Subject:Gabrielle Réjane (1856-1920; French actress) |
| 1885 | The Girl with a Black Cat |  | ||
| 1885 | Portrait of Mrs. Charles Warren-Cram, oil on canvas | _MET_EP1482.jpg) | Metropolitan Museum of Art | Subject: Ella Brooks Carter (1846–1896) |
| 1881-86 | Two White Horses |  | ||
| 1886 | Portrait of Giuseppe Verdi |  | National Gallery of Modern Art, Rome | Subject: Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) |
| 1888 | Woman in Black who Watches the Pastel of Signora Emiliana Concha de Ossa, oil on canvas |  | Museo Boldini, Ferrara | |
| 1888 | Portrait of Marthe de Florian |  | Private | Rediscovered in 2010 |
| 1890 | Portrait of John Singer Sargent (c. 1890), oil on panel | _-John_Singer_Sargent(Standing).jpg) | Subject: John Singer Sargent (1856–1925; American artist and portrait painter) | |
| 1890 | Portrait of John Singer Sargent (c. 1890), oil on panel | _-_A_Portrait_of_John_Singer_Sargent.jpg) | Subject: John Singer Sargent (1856–1925; American artist and portrait painter) | |
| 1892 | Portrait of Josefina Errázuriz Alvear, oil on canvas |  | Private | Josefina Errázuriz Alvear |
| 1892 | Portrait of Madame Josefina Alvear de Errázuriz, oil on canvas | view | Private | Subject: Josefina Alvear de Errázuriz |
| 1892 | Self-Portrait | view | Subject: Giuseppe Boldini | |
| 1892 | Portrait de Madame E |  | National Museum of Decorative Arts Buenos Aires | Subject: Madame E |
| 1894 | Portrait of the Countess de Martel de Janville, known as Gypsy, oil on canvas |  | Musée de la Ville de Paris, Musée Carnavalet, Paris | Subject: Countess de Martel de Janville (1850-1932) |
| 1895 | Portrait of a Man Wearing a Top Hat: Poet Hanvin, from the Figaro, oil on panel | _01.jpg) | ||
| 1897 | Portrait of Lady Colin Campbell, oil on canvas | view | National Portrait Gallery, London | Subject: Gertrude Elizabeth Blood (1857–1911) |
| 1897 | Portrait of J. A. M. Whistler, oil on canvas | view | Brooklyn Museum, New York | Subject: James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903) |
| 1897 | Portrait of Robert de Montesquiou |  | Subject: Robert de Montesquiou (1855-1921; Gay French poet and writer) | |
| 1898 | Portrait of Georges Madame Hugo, and her son Jean, oil on canvas | view | Private | Subject: Jeanne Hugo and her son, Charles Daudet |
| 1900 | Portrait of a Man in a Church, watercolor |  | Private | |
| 1901 | Portrait of Mme. Lina Cavalieri, oil on canvas | .jpg) | Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois | Subject: Lina Cavalieri (1874-1944); Italian operatic soprano and diseuse |
| 1903 | Portrait of a Lady, Mrs. Lionel Phillips |  | Subject: Dorothea Sarah Florence Alexandra (1863–1940) | |
| 1904 | Portrait of Sarah Bernhardt |  | Subject: Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923; French stage and film actress) | |
| 1904 | Princess Radziwill with Red Ribbon |  | Subject: Polish princess Radziwill | |
| 1905 | Portrait of Elizabeth Wharton Drexel, oil on canvas | Subject: Elizabeth Wharton Drexel (1868–1944; American author and Manhattan socialite) | ||
| 1905 | The Black Sash, oil on canvas | view | Private | |
| 1905 | Portrait of Countess Zichy, oil on canvas | view | Subject: Countess Zichy | |
| 1906 | Portrait of Ethel Mary Crocker | view | Subject: lived 1891–1964; daughter of Mrs. William H. Crocker; later Countess de Limur. | |
| 1906 | Portrait of Mrs. Howard-Johnston, oil on canvas | view | Private | Subject: Howard-Johnston |
| 1906 | Consuelo Vanderbilt, Duchess of Marlborough, and Her Son, Lord Ivor Spencer-Churchill, oil on canvas | view | Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City | Subjects: Consuelo Vanderbilt (1876–1964). Lord Ivor Spencer-Churchill (1898–1956). |
| 1908 | Portrait of Marchesa Luisa Casati, with a Greyhound, oil | %2C_La_Marchesa_Luisa_Casati_(1881-1957)_con_un_levriero.jpg) | Subject: Luisa Casati (1881–1957; Italian heiress and patroness of arts) | |
| 1910 | Portrait of Anita De La Feria, The Spanish Dancer, oil on canvas |  | Private | Subject: Anita de la Ferie |
| 1910-1914 | Canale a Venezia con gondole |  | Art collections of Fondazione Cariplo | Venice |
| 1911 | Portrait of Princess Marthe Bibesco, oil on canvas |  | Subject: Marthe Bibesco (1886-1973) | |
| 1911 | Portrait of Rita de Acosta Lydig, oil on canvas |  |
M.S. Rau Antiques, New Orleans | Subject: Rita de Acosta Lydig (1875-1929) |
| 1911 | Self-Portrait |  | Museo Boldini, Ferrara | Subject: Giuseppe Boldini |
| 1912 | Portrait of Mlle. de Gillespie, La Dame de Biarritz, oil on canvas | view | Private | |
| 1912 | Portrait of a Lady |  | Brooklyn Museum | |
| 1913 | Portrait of a Lady, Lina Bilitis, with two Pekineses, oil on canvas |  | Private | Subject: Lina Bilitis |
| 1913 | Madame Michelham |  | N.A. | Subject: Madame Michelham |
| 1914 | Portrait of the Marchesa Luisa Casati | .jpg) | Subject: Luisa Casati (1881–1957; Italian heiress and patroness of arts) | |
| 1924 | Portrait of Donna Franca Florio, oil on canvas |  | ||
| Des Parisiennes | Vanderbilt collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City | |||
| Interior of the artist's studio with the portrait of Giovinetta Errazuriz | view | Subject: Giovinetta Errazuriz | ||
| Kitchen Garden | ||||
| La Passeggiata al Bois | ||||
| Place Pigalle | ||||
| Portrait of a Dandy |  | |||
| Portrait of Francesco Boldini | view | Subject: Little brother of Giovanni Boldini, Francesco | ||
| Portrait of the young Subercaseuse | ||||
| Portrait of Willy, the Writer Henri Gauthier-Villars |  | |||
| Repose in the Atelier | ||||
| Studies for the Portrait of Marchesa Luisa Casati | Subject: Luisa Casati (1881–1957; Italian heiress and patroness of arts) | |||
| The Art Connoisseur, oil on panel | view | Private | ||
| The Misses Muriel and Consuelo Vanderbilt | ||||
| Reclining Nude, oil on canvas | view | Private | ||
| Room of the Painter | view | |||
| A Lady with a Cat, watercolor |  | Private | ||
| Lady in Rose, oil on canvas |  | Museo Boldini, Ferrara | ||
| Boy with a Circle, oil on canvas |  | |||
| Girl with Red Shawl |  | |||
| Gentleman at the Piano |  | |||
| Woman at the Piano, oil on canvas |  | Private | ||
| Lady Pianist, watercolor |  | Private | ||
| Theatre |  | |||
| Woman in Red |  | |||
| The Pianist A. Rey Colaco |  | Subject: Alexandre Rey Colaço (1854-1928; Portuguese pianist) | ||
| The Rose in Vase of Sassonia |  | |||
| Still Life with Rose |  | |||
| Sitting in the Garden |  | |||
| Statue in the Park of Versailles |  | |||
| Angels |  | |||
Prints and Drawings
| Year | Title | Image | Collection | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1883 | Famous Connoisseur (Fameux Connaisseur), crayon and pencil on graph paper | _MET_DT353872.jpg) | Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City | |
| 1884 | Portrait of the Artist, pen and brown ink | view | Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City | |
| 1885 | Audience at a Parisian Theatre I (c. 1885), Graphite on cream wove paper | Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois | ||
| 1885 | Audience at a Parisian Theatre II (c. 1885), Graphite on cream wove paper | Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois | ||
| 1897 | Hansom Cabs, New York (c. 1897), black chalk on ruled paper | view | Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City | |
| 1897 | Whistler Dozing, drypoint on paper | view | Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois | |
| 1904 | Portrait of the Marquis de Biron (c. 1904), black chalk | view | Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City | |
| 1905 | Portrait of a Lady (c. 1905), crayon on paper | view | Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City | |
| Portrait of Edward G. Kennedy, black graphite | view | Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City | Subject: lived 1849-1932. | |
| Leda with Swan |  | Subject: Leda | ||
| Sarah Bernhardt, sketch, pencil on paper |  | Private | Subject: Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923; French actress) | |
References
- "Art: Master of Swish". time.com. 3 April 1933.
- de Gubernatis, Angelo (1889). Dizionario degli Artisti Italiani Viventi: pittori, scultori, e Architetti. Tipe dei Successori Le Monnier. p. 63.
- 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. OCLC 70337478.
- John Hall (16 May 2013). "Revealed: Eerie new images show forgotten French apartment that was". The Independent.
- Samuel, Henry (4 Oct 2010). "Parisian flat containing €2.1 million painting lay untouched for 70 years". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
- Wilkens, John (7 February 2016). "Novelist writes what she doesn't know". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
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. ISBN 9788888997520
- 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 reference
- 77 works by Giovanni Boldini
- Giovanni Boldini. Capolavori e opere inedite dall'atelier dell'artista
- Giovanni Boldini at the John Singer Sargent Virtual Gallery
- Giovanni Boldini at ArtCyclopedia
- Giovanni Boldini Gallery
- The photo gallery with the best female portraits by Boldini
- wikiart.org Growing public domain of Boldini's paintings
- Video excerpt from the ballet Franca Florio, regina di Palermo on YouTube
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