Giovanni Boldini (31 December 1842 – 11 January 1931) was an Italian

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

and

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better r ...

painter who lived and worked in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

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 (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) 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 ...

, Italy 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 ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

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 ...

, who were Italian precursors to

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

. 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 human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

which show his spontaneous response to nature, although it is for his portraits 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 Paris, where he became a friend of

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

. He also had a romantic relationship with a French woman named Berthe, who would a regular model for him in the same decade. He had another lover in the Countess Gabrielle de Rasty. 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 15, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era, Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil ...

and

Paul Helleu Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo P ...

. He was nominated commissioner of the Italian section of the Paris Exposition in 1889, and received the 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 ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

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'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' 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 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 Domergues 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 (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Works

File:Guitar Player.jpg, ''Guitar Player'' (1872), Oil on canvas, 16 3/8 × 13 9/16 in. (41.6 × 34.4 cm),

Clark Art Institute The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, commonly referred to as the Clark, is an art museum and research institution located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. Its collection consists of European ...

File:Crossing the Street.jpg, ''Crossing the Street'' (1873–75), Oil on panel, 18 3/16 × 14 7/8 in. (46.2 × 37.8 cm),

File:Washerwomen.jpg, ''Washerwomen'' (1874), Oil on panel, 5 3/8 x 7 7/8 in. (13.7 x 20 cm),

File:Young Woman Crocheting.jpg, ''Young Woman Crocheting'' (1875), Oil on canvas, 14 1/4 × 10 13/16 in. (36.2 × 27.4 cm)

File:Fishing Boats, Giovanni Boldini.jpg, ''Return of the Fishing Boats, Étretat'' (1879), Oil on panel, 5 1/2 × 9 7/16 in. (14 × 23.9 cm),

File:Recital, Giovanni Boldini.jpg, ''Recital'' (c.1884), Oil on panel, 8 11/16 x 6 7/16 in. (22 x 16.4 cm),

File:Madame Céline Leclanché.jpg, ''Madame Céline Leclanché'' (1881), Oil on canvas, 24 x 16 1/8 in. (61 x 41 cm)

Giuseppe Verdi by Giovanni Boldini.jpg, '' Portrait of Giuseppe Verdi'', 1886 Boldini - princesse-de-caraman-chimay-later-madame-jourdan-1889.jpg, Then-princess

Clara Ward Clara Mae Ward (April 21, 1924 – January 16, 1973) was an American gospel singer who achieved great artistic and commercial success during the 1940s and 1950s, as leader of the Famous Ward Singers. A gifted singer and arranger, Ward adopted ...

, 1889 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 - The Spanish Dancer.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'', 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 () was a period of French and European history that began after the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 and continued until the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Occurring during the era of the Fr ...

. 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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 art museum, fine arts museum in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, New Orleans. It is situated within City Park (New Orleans), City Park, a short distance from the intersection of Carrollton ...

. 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
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 aro ...

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 Painters from Paris Italian emigrants to France 19th-century Italian male artists 20th-century Italian male artists Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze alumni