Giovanni Boldini Biography
Giovanni Boldini (1842 - 1931)
Born in
Ferrara,
Italy on
31st December 1842, Boldini received his initial training from
his father, a painter and restorer. A precocious talent, Boldini attended the
Accademia di Belle Arti (Academy
of Fine Arts) in Florence in 1862. There he met the circle of Tuscan realist
painters, known as the Macchiaioli, developing a particularly close
friendship with Telemaco Signorini and Christiano Banti. They were a
considerable influence on Boldini and introduced him to painting from nature,
contemporaneous with the Barbizon painters of France.
During a visit to
Paris
for the Exposition Universelle in 1867, Boldini was greatly influenced by the
paintings of Courbet, Manet and Degas, artists with whom he later established
lifelong friendships. While in
Paris,
Boldini was captivated by what he considered to be the cultural capital of
Europe and moved there permanently in October 1871, settling in the Place
Pigalle. During this period he painted a series of small-scale works of
eighteenth-century and Empire scenes, commissioned by Adolphe Goupil and other
Parisian dealers, but also concentrated on scenes of Parisian life and
pictures of elegantly dressed women, many of which were also sold by Goupil.
Boldini was accepted as one of the foremost portrait painters of the Belle
Epoque in Paris during the 1890s. His unique style set him apart from his
contemporaries. "Though he remained essentially Paris-based, Boldini
occasionally made trips to London to paint some of Sargent's sitters...
Boldini had perfected a 'whiplash' style by which the model appeared to be
thrown onto the canvas... All his nervous energy... was thrown at the canvas."
(Kenneth McConkey, Edwardian Portraits, London, 1987, p.36).
Boldini died in
Paris
on 12th January 1931.
Return to the Giovanni Boldini Gallery
Please spend some time roaming our other galleries.
Artist Galleries A - F
Artist Galleries G - P
Artist Galleries Q - Z
Home Galleries by Subject Galleries by Artist Contact Us How to Order
All Rights Reserved to Canvas Replicas. 2016, 2017