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Giovanni Boldini Paintings

Italian, 1842-1931

Giovanni Boldini was an Italian genre and portrait painter who lived and worked in Paris for most of his career. Boldini was born in Ferrara and was the son of a painter of religious subjects. In 1862, he 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 the 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. 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. In 1897, Boldini had a solo exhibition in New York. He participated in the Venice Biennale in 1895, 1903, 1905 and 1912. He died in Paris on July 11th, 1931. 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 70 years. The portrait has never been listed, exhibited or published and the flat belonged to de Florian's granddaughter who went to live in the South of France at the outbreak of the Second World War and never returned. 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.

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Artist: Giovanni Boldini
Portrait of a Lady
Portrait of a Lady

Portrait of a Lady

By Giovanni Boldini

Located in Padova, IT

GIOVANNI BOLDINI (FERRARA 1842–1931 PARIS) Profilo di Giovane Seduta 1915 circa Expertise by Prof. Dini ( see photo attached) oil on panel cm 35 x 26,8 not signed

Category

1910s Italian School Giovanni Boldini Paintings

Materials

Oil Crayon, Wood Panel

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Giovanni Boldini paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Giovanni Boldini paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Giovanni Boldini in charcoal, paper and more. Not every interior allows for large Giovanni Boldini paintings, so small editions measuring 10 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Angelo Granati, Ciro De Rosa, and Fernando FARULLI. Giovanni Boldini paintings prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $33,286 and tops out at $33,286, while the average work can sell for $33,286.