Giovanni Boldini was an Italian genre and portrait painter who lived and worked in Paris 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.

Boldini first attained success as a portraitist in London, completing portraits of premier members of English society including Lady Holland and the Duchess of Westminster. From 1872, he lived in Paris, where he became a friend of Edgar Degas and 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.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. .

Paintings Year Title Image Collection Comments1856 Self portrait at fourteen years old Museo Boldini Subject: Giovanni Boldini Portrait of Francesco Boldini Museo Boldini Subject: Little brother of Giovanni Boldini, Francesco1864-65Portrait of Lilia Monti born Countess Magnoni, oil on canvas Estense Castle (Castello Estense), Ferrara Subject: Lilia MontiCristiano Banti Subject: Cristiano Banti Pig keeper 1865Alaide recovering Subject: Alaide Banti (1855-1929), daughter of Cristiano Banti1865Portrait of Diego Martelli Subject: Diego Martelli1865Giuseppe Abbati Subject: Giuseppe Abbati1865Self-Portrait while looking at a painting, oil on canvas Galleria d'Arte Moderna in Palazzo Pitti, Florence Subject: Giovanni Boldini1865-66Portrait of Maria Angelini Subject: Maria Angelini1865-66Diego Martelli in Castiglioncello Subject: Diego Martelli1866Portrait of the painter Alessandro Lanfredini, oil on panel Private Subject: Alessandro Lanfredini1866Portrait of Cristiano Banti with his cane Subject: Cristiano Banti1866Portrait of Alaide Banti in white dress Subject: Alaide Banti (1855-1929), daughter of Cristiano Banti1866-67Giovanni Fattori at the easel Gallerie d'Italia, Milan Subject: Giovanni Fattori1870The Connoisseur, oil on panel Private 1873The Model and the Mannequin, oil on panel Private 1873The Guitar Player, oil on canvas Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute at Williamstown, United States 1873Gossip, oil on wood Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City 1873 Les Parisiennes Vanderbilt collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City 1874 La Place Pigalle 1874 Boy with a Circle, oil on canvas 1875 Ladies of the First Empire Vanderbilt collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art 1875A Lute Player and a Listener, oil on canvas Private1878Lady admiring a Fan Butterfly Institute Fine Art (Gallery), Lugano1878Portrait of Ferdynand Bryndza (1837–1891) National Museum in Kraków1879The Dispatch-Bearer (c. 1879), oil on wood Metropolitan Museum of Art -1890 Portrait of a Dandy Subject: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864–1901) The newspaper seller 1882 Place Pigalle and the Place de l’Etoile La Villette omnibus 1883 Girl with Red Shawl, oil on canvas Private 1884The Worldly Singer (La cantante mondana) Museo Boldini, Ferrara The Actress Rejane and her Dog, oil on canvas Private Subject:Gabrielle Réjane (1856–1920; French actress)1885The Girl with a Black Cat 1885Portrait of Mrs. Charles Warren-Cram, oil on canvas Metropolitan Museum of Art Subject: Ella Brooks Carter (1846–1896)1881–86Two White Horses 1886 Portrait of Giuseppe Verdi Casa di Riposo per Musicisti Subject: Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901)1886 Portrait of Giuseppe Verdi National Gallery of Modern Art, Rome Subject: Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901)1888Woman in Black who Watches the Pastel of Signora Emiliana Concha de Ossa, oil on canvas Museo Boldini, Ferrara 1890Portrait of John Singer Sargent (c. 1890), oil on panel Subject: John Singer Sargent (1856–1925; American artist and portrait painter)1890Portrait of John Singer Sargent (c. 1890), oil on panel Subject: John Singer Sargent (1856–1925; American artist and portrait painter)1890Portrait of Lucy Gérard (c. 1890), pastel on canvas Subject: Lucy Gérard (1872–1941; French actress) 1891 Portrait of the little Subercaseaux Museo Boldini 1892Portrait of Josefina Errázuriz Alvear, oil on canvas Private Josefina Errázuriz Alvear1892Portrait of Madame Josefina Alvear de Errázuriz or Portrait de Madame E, oil on canvas National Museum of Decorative Arts Buenos Aires Subject: Josefina Alvear de Errázuriz1892Self-Portrait Subject: Giovanni Boldini 1892 Interior of the artist's studio with the portrait of Giovinetta Errázuriz Subject: Giovinetta Errazuriz1894Portrait of the Countess de Martel de Janville, known as Gypsy, oil on canvas Musée de la Ville de Paris, Musée Carnavalet, Paris Subject: Countess de Martel de Janville (1850–1932)1895Portrait of a Man Wearing a Top Hat: Poet Hanvin, from the Figaro, oil on panel 1897 Portrait of Lady Colin Campbell, oil on canvas National Portrait Gallery, London Subject: Gertrude Elizabeth Blood (1857–1911)1897Portrait of J. A. M. Whistler, oil on canvas Brooklyn Museum, New York Subject: James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903)1897Portrait of Robert de Montesquiou Musée d'Orsay, Paris Subject: Robert de Montesquiou (1855–1921; Gay French poet and writer)1898Portrait of Madame Georges Hugo, and her son Jean, oil on canvas Private Subject: Madame Georges Hugo (born Pauline Ménard-Dorian) and her son, Jean Hugo Room of the Painter 1900Portrait of a Man in a Church, watercolor Private 1900–1910Portrait of Marthe de Florian Private Rediscovered in 2010, Subject: Marthe de Florian (1864-1939), French demi-mondaine and socialite during the Belle Époque1901Portrait of Mme. Lina Cavalieri, oil on canvas Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois Subject: Lina Cavalieri (1874–1944); Italian operatic soprano and diseuse1903Portrait of a Lady, Mrs. Lionel Phillips Subject: Dorothea Sarah Florence Alexandra (1863–1940)1904Portrait of Sarah Bernhardt Subject: Sarah Bernhardt (1844–1923; French stage and film actress)1904Princess Radziwill with Red Ribbon Subject: Princess Catherine Radziwill 1905Portrait of Elizabeth Wharton Drexel, oil on canvas Subject: Elizabeth Wharton Drexel (1868–1944; American author and Manhattan socialite)1905The Black Sash, oil on canvas Private 1905Portrait of Countess Zichy, oil on canvas Subject: Countess Eleonóra Zichy1905 Portrait of Willy Private Subject: the writer Henri Gauthier-Villars1906Portrait of Ethel Mary Crocker Subject: lived 1891–1964; daughter of Mrs. William H. Crocker; later Countess de Limur.1906Portrait of Mrs. Howard-Johnston, oil on canvas Private Subject: Howard-Johnston1906Consuelo Vanderbilt, Duchess of Marlborough, and Her Son, Lord Ivor Spencer-Churchill, oil on canvas Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City Subjects: Consuelo Vanderbilt (1876–1964). Lord Ivor Spencer-Churchill (1898–1956).1908Portrait of Marchesa Luisa Casati, with a Greyhound, oil Subject: Luisa Casati (1881–1957; Italian heiress and patroness of arts) 1909 La Passeggiata al Bois 1910Portrait de la princesse Cécile Murat, Ney d'Elchingen, oil on canvas Private Subject: Princess Cécile Murat Ney d'Elchingen (wife of Joachim, 5th Prince Murat)1910Portrait of Anita De La Feria, The Spanish Dancer, oil on canvas Private Subject: Anita de la Ferie1910–1914Canale a Venezia con gondole Art collections of Fondazione CariploVenice1910 Ritratto di Josefina Errazuriz Alvear con il suo gatto 1911Portrait of Princess Marthe Bibesco, oil on canvas Subject: Marthe Bibesco (1886–1973)1911Portrait of Rita de Acosta Lydig, oil on canvas M.S. Rau Antiques, New Orleans Subject: Rita de Acosta Lydig (1875–1929)1911Self-Portrait Museo Boldini, Ferrara Subject: Giovanni Boldini 1912Portrait of Mlle. de Gillespie, La Dame de Biarritz, oil on canvas Private 1912Portrait of a Lady Brooklyn Museum 1913 The Misses Muriel and Consuelo Vanderbilt Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Subjects: Muriel and Consuelo Vanderbilt1913Portrait of a Lady, Lina Bilitis, with two Pekineses, oil on canvas Private Subject: Lina Bilitis1913Madame Michelham N.A. Subject: Madame Michelham1914Portrait of the Marchesa Luisa Casati Subject: Luisa Casati (1881–1957; Italian heiress and patroness of arts)1914Portrait of Mrs. Leeds Subject: May Leeds, later Princess Anastasia of Greece and Denmark (1878–1923; American heiress, later a Greek princess by marriage)1916 Lady in Rose, oil on canvas Museo Boldini, Ferrara Subject: Olivia de Santiago Concha, 4th Marchioness of Casa Concha1924 Portrait of Donna Franca Florio, oil on canvas Josefina Alvear de Errázuriz Portrait of Madame Josefina A. de Errázuriz Kitchen Garden Repose in the Atelier Studies for the Portrait of Marchesa Luisa Casati Subject: Luisa Casati (1881–1957; Italian heiress and patroness of arts) The Art Connoisseur, oil on panel Private Reclining Nude, oil on canvas Private A Lady with a Cat, watercolor Private Gentleman at the Piano Woman at the Piano, oil on canvas Private Lady Pianist, watercolor Private Theatre Woman in Red The Pianist A. Rey Colaco Subject: Alexandre Rey Colaço (1854–1928; Portuguese pianist) The Rose in Vase of Sassonia Still Life with Rose Sitting in the Garden Statue in the Park of Versailles Angels

Prints and drawings Year Title Image Collection Comments 1883Famous Connoisseur (Fameux Connaisseur), crayon and pencil on graph paper Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City 1884Portrait of the Artist, pen and brown ink Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City 1885Audience at a Parisian Theatre I (c. 1885), Graphite on cream wove paper Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 1885Audience at a Parisian Theatre II (c. 1885), Graphite on cream wove paper Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 1897 Hansom Cabs, New York (c. 1897), black chalk on ruled paper Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City 1897Whistler Dozing, drypoint on paper view Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 1904 Portrait of the Marquis de Biron (c. 1904), black chalk Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City 1905 Portrait of a Lady (c. 1905), crayon on paper Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City Portrait of Edward G. Kennedy, black graphite Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City Subject: lived 1849–1932. Leda with Swan Subject: Leda Sarah Bernhardt, sketch, pencil on paper Private Subject: Sarah Bernhardt (1844–1923; French actress) Statue, sketch, pencil on paper Private Published (n. 1909) in Bianca Doria, Boldini: I disegni di Giovanni Boldini: Catalogo Generale, Skira, 2011, ISBN 978-88-572-1140-4 Face of woman, sketch, pencil on paper Private

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