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Italian-French portrait painter Born in Ferrara, Italy in 1845. Like Sargent, he had an international career, working mainly in Paris, but also in England where he was well known in London. By the turn of the century Boldini had become the most sought after portrait painter in Paris, achieving such a success that his reputation equaled that of Sargent's in London. He was renowned as a colorist and technician, and his works are considered very much Parisian. * * * I believe Sargent first met Boldini in the summer of 1880 (Sargent was 24 and Boldini 38). John had traveled to Venice to meet his family and there he set up a studio. He very easily could have met him in Paris prior, or at the very least Sargent might have known of him. It would be in the early 80's that Boldini painted Sargent. In 1885, after the Madame X scandal of the previous year, Sargent moved to London after being there a year he gave up his Paris Boulevard Berthier studio to Boldini who would become one of the best-loved portrait painter of Parisian high society. Their paths would cross quite a bit. They stayed in contact but it is not documented very well. I know for sure Boldini sketched him in 1902. * * * Giovanni Boldini was born in Ferrara the eighth of thirteen children. He arrived in Florence in 1862-65, where he came into contact members of the Barbizon school, the Macchiaioli (a group of artists opposed to the strict teachings of the Accademia -- pronounced "mah-key-ay-OH-li") worked to emphasize painterly immediacy and freshness -- (Other artists of that school included Silvestro Lega, Giovanni Fattori, Vito d'Ancona, and Giovanni (Nino) Costa). Principle among these early associations was Boldini's friendship with the influential thinker and art critic Diego Martelli who, himself, would helped mold and champion the ideas of French Impressionism in Italy. From the earliest years of Boldini's career, he displayed a remarkable talent as a portrait painter, and during a trip to London in 1869 was able to obtain numerous commissions. He would carry this forward residing in London on-and-off for the next five years. Boldini also produced landscape paintings, including a series of frescoes at the Villa 'La Falconiera', near Pistoia in 1870 at the age of 28. However gifted he might have been in these other areas, his talent and love was clearly for the art of portraiture. In 1872 he settled in Paris at the age of 30, taking a studio on the Place Pigalle. Beginning in '74 he exhibited frequently at the annual Salons (the year that Sargent arrived) and quickly rose to prominence in Parisian art circles. He enjoyed an exclusive contract with the eminent art dealer Adolphe Goupil, and for him produced small, brightly colored 18th century costume pieces such as "Young Woman Writing" that were popular with his Parisian clientele. Boldini's public
debut of '74 at
the Salon de Mars with his bold, fluid style of painting soon proved
immensely
popular. He began to paint society portraits and quickly developed a
reputation
for his dazzling, elegant depictions of the fashionable women, executed
with these bold, fluid brushstrokes.
Here, Boldini is depicted in a caricature by Sem dancing with the wealthy socialite Ava Astor.
He would paint portraits of other painters such as James A. McNeill Whistler, John Singer Sargent, and Paul-César Helleu along with Paul's wife. He became a close friend of Degas (Degas drew Boldini); and like Degas, he began to use pastel extensively in the 1880's. Boldini died in Paris in 1931. Today there is a Boldini museum in his native Ferrara. Among Boldini's better known works are "A Summer Stroll", "At the Piano", "After the Orgy", "Count Robert de Montesquiou ", "The dutchess of Marlborough", "the princess von Hohenlohe" and "Spring Flowers"
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by Boldini
 Ritratto Pastel on cardboard (Portrait of Sarah Bernhardt?) about 1880
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