Giovanni Boldini

An Italian Impressionist painter, a master of engraving, one of the best and most sought-after portrait painters of the period of his active work, that is, the second half of the 19th and the first third of the 20th century. Having mastered the ideas and the technique of the Florentine school of Macchiaioli that was unusual and progressive for Italian fine art of the second half of the 19th century, the portrait painter finally formed his skills in France under the influence of the not yet recognized Impressionists. He painted mostly portraits and plot scenes. Among the Paris Boheme, he succeeded as the creator of sophisticated elegant refined beauties and aesthetes-dandy. His talent was recognized in his motherland rather late; nevertheless, he is rightly considered, along with Nitisse and Zandomeneghi, the founder of Italian Impressionism, in particular, impressionistic portrait.

Key ideas:

– G. Boldini, an Italian genre painter and portrait painter, was famous in Europe as “the Master of Chic”. In his paintings, the subject of the painting appeared in soft focus, as if slightly elongated, direct and alive. Ladies are depicted in a special smooth style and always look elegantly flirty and sexy.

– The master’s work of the brush was quick and bold; this gives his paintings the feeling of the movement, even if the person being depicted is sitting. Thanks to his “easy” talent, Giovanni became the best portrait painter of the “Beautiful Epoch”.

– As a genre painter, Boldini preferred to depict scenes related to creativity – playing music and dancing. He didn’t pass by the now fashionable nude style when depicting domestic scenes, and reflections of the life of Parisian streets and cafes. The distinguishing features of Boldini’s paintings created for the art market are the quirkiness of the lines and the randomness of the wide brushstroke.

– The artist’s brilliant energetic style was preserved in the last period of his career, when he mostly used dark and saturated “deaf” colors.