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. [1]
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. [2] 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. [3]
| Year | Title | Image | Collection | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1856 | Self portrait at fourteen years old | | Museo Boldini | Subject: Giovanni Boldini |
| c. 1859 | Portrait of Francesco Boldini | | Museo Boldini | Subject: Little brother of Giovanni Boldini, Francesco |
| 1864-65 | Portrait of Lilia Monti born Countess Magnoni, oil on canvas | | Estense Castle (Castello Estense), Ferrara | Subject: Lilia Monti |
| c. 1865 | Cristiano Banti | | Subject: Cristiano Banti | |
| c. 1865 | Pig keeper | | ||
| 1865 | Alaide recovering | | Subject: Alaide Banti (1855-1929), daughter of Cristiano Banti | |
| 1865 | Portrait of Diego Martelli | | Subject: Diego Martelli | |
| 1865 | Giuseppe Abbati | | Subject: Giuseppe Abbati | |
| 1865 | Self-Portrait while looking at a painting, oil on canvas | | Galleria d'Arte Moderna in Palazzo Pitti, Florence | Subject: Giovanni Boldini |
| 1865-66 | Portrait of Maria Angelini | | Subject: Maria Angelini | |
| 1865-66 | Diego Martelli in Castiglioncello | | Subject: Diego Martelli | |
| 1866 | Portrait of the painter Alessandro Lanfredini, oil on panel | | Private | Subject: Alessandro Lanfredini |
| 1866 | Portrait of Cristiano Banti with his cane | | Subject: Cristiano Banti | |
| 1866 | Portrait of Alaide Banti in white dress | | Subject: Alaide Banti (1855-1929), daughter of Cristiano Banti | |
| 1866-67 | Giovanni Fattori at the easel | | Gallerie d'Italia, Milan | Subject: Giovanni Fattori |
| 1870 | The Connoisseur, oil on panel | | Private | |
| 1873 | The Model and the Mannequin, oil on panel | | Private | |
| 1873 | The Guitar Player, oil on canvas | | Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute at Williamstown, United States | |
| 1873 | Gossip, 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 | |
| 1875 | A Lute Player and a Listener, oil on canvas | | Private | |
| 1878 | Lady admiring a Fan | | Butterfly Institute Fine Art (Gallery), Lugano | |
| 1878 | Portrait of Ferdynand Bryndza (1837–1891) | | National Museum in Kraków | |
| 1879 | The Dispatch-Bearer (c. 1879), oil on wood | | Metropolitan Museum of Art | |
| c. 1880-1890 | Portrait of a Dandy | | Subject: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864–1901) | |
| c. 1880 | The newspaper seller | | ||
| 1882 | Place Pigalle and the Place de l’Etoile La Villette omnibus | | ||
| 1883 | Girl with Red Shawl, oil on canvas | | Private | |
| 1884 | The Worldly Singer (La cantante mondana) | | Museo Boldini, Ferrara | |
| c. 1885 | The Actress Rejane and her Dog, oil on canvas | | Private | Subject:Gabrielle Réjane (1856–1920; French actress) |
| 1885 | The Girl with a Black Cat | | ||
| 1885 | Portrait of Mrs. Charles Warren-Cram, oil on canvas | | Metropolitan Museum of Art | Subject: Ella Brooks Carter (1846–1896) |
| 1881–86 | Two 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) |
| 1888 | Woman in Black who Watches the Pastel of Signora Emiliana Concha de Ossa, oil on canvas | | Museo Boldini, Ferrara | |
| 1890 | Portrait of John Singer Sargent (c. 1890), oil on panel | | Subject: John Singer Sargent (1856–1925; American artist and portrait painter) | |
| 1890 | Portrait of John Singer Sargent (c. 1890), oil on panel | | Subject: John Singer Sargent (1856–1925; American artist and portrait painter) | |
| 1890 | Portrait of Lucy Gérard (c. 1890), pastel on canvas | | Subject: Lucy Gérard (1872–1941; French actress) | |
| 1891 | Portrait of the little Subercaseaux | | Museo Boldini | |
| 1892 | Portrait of Josefina Errázuriz Alvear , oil on canvas | | Private | Josefina Errázuriz Alvear |
| 1892 | Portrait 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 Errázuriz |
| 1892 | Self-Portrait | | Subject: Giovanni Boldini | |
| 1892 | Interior of the artist's studio with the portrait of Giovinetta Errázuriz | | Subject: Giovinetta Errazuriz | |
| 1894 | Portrait 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) |
| 1895 | Portrait 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) |
| 1897 | Portrait of J. A. M. Whistler, oil on canvas | | Brooklyn Museum, New York | Subject: James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903) |
| 1897 | Portrait of Robert de Montesquiou | | Musée d'Orsay, Paris | Subject: Robert de Montesquiou (1855–1921; Gay French poet and writer) |
| 1898 | Portrait 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 |
| c. 1899 | Room of the Painter | | ||
| 1900 | Portrait of a Man in a Church, watercolor | | Private | |
| 1900–1910 | Portrait of Marthe de Florian | | Private | Rediscovered in 2010, Subject: Marthe de Florian (1864-1939), French demi-mondaine and socialite during the Belle Époque |
| 1901 | Portrait of Mme. Lina Cavalieri, oil on canvas | | Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois | Subject: Lina Cavalieri (1874–1944); Italian operatic soprano and diseuse |
| 1903 | Portrait of a Lady, Mrs. Lionel Phillips | | Subject: Dorothea Sarah Florence Alexandra (1863–1940) | |
| 1904 | Portrait of Sarah Bernhardt | | Subject: Sarah Bernhardt (1844–1923; French stage and film actress) | |
| 1904 | Princess Radziwill with Red Ribbon | | Subject: Princess Catherine Radziwill | |
| 1905 | Portrait of Elizabeth Wharton Drexel, oil on canvas | | Subject: Elizabeth Wharton Drexel (1868–1944; American author and Manhattan socialite) | |
| 1905 | The Black Sash, oil on canvas | | Private | |
| 1905 | Portrait of Countess Zichy, oil on canvas | | Subject: Countess Eleonóra Zichy | |
| 1905 | Portrait of Willy | | Private | Subject: the writer Henri Gauthier-Villars |
| 1906 | Portrait of Ethel Mary Crocker | | Subject: lived 1891–1964; daughter of Mrs. William H. Crocker; later Countess de Limur. | |
| 1906 | Portrait of Mrs. Howard-Johnston, oil on canvas | | Private | Subject: Howard-Johnston |
| 1906 | Consuelo 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). |
| 1908 | Portrait of Marchesa Luisa Casati, with a Greyhound, oil | | Subject: Luisa Casati (1881–1957; Italian heiress and patroness of arts) | |
| 1909 | La Passeggiata al Bois | | ||
| 1910 | Portrait 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) |
| 1910 | Portrait of Anita De La Feria, The Spanish Dancer, oil on canvas | | Private | Subject: Anita de la Ferie |
| 1910–1914 | Canale a Venezia con gondole | | Art collections of Fondazione Cariplo | Venice |
| 1910 | Ritratto di Josefina Errazuriz Alvear con il suo gatto | | ||
| 1911 | Portrait of Princess Marthe Bibesco, oil on canvas | | Subject: Marthe Bibesco (1886–1973) | |
| 1911 | Portrait of Rita de Acosta Lydig, oil on canvas | | M.S. Rau Antiques, New Orleans | Subject: Rita de Acosta Lydig (1875–1929) |
| 1911 | Self-Portrait | | Museo Boldini, Ferrara | Subject: Giovanni Boldini |
| 1912 | Portrait of Mlle. de Gillespie, La Dame de Biarritz, oil on canvas | | Private | |
| 1912 | Portrait of a Lady | | Brooklyn Museum | |
| 1913 | The Misses Muriel and Consuelo Vanderbilt | | Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco | Subjects: Muriel and Consuelo Vanderbilt |
| 1913 | Portrait of a Lady, Lina Bilitis, with two Pekineses, oil on canvas | | Private | Subject: Lina Bilitis |
| 1913 | Madame Michelham | | N.A. | Subject: Madame Michelham |
| 1914 | Portrait of the Marchesa Luisa Casati | | Subject: Luisa Casati (1881–1957; Italian heiress and patroness of arts) | |
| 1914 | Portrait 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 Concha |
| 1924 | 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 | | |||
| Year | Title | Image | Collection | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1883 | Famous Connoisseur (Fameux Connaisseur), crayon and pencil on graph paper | | Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City | |
| 1884 | Portrait of the Artist, pen and brown ink | | Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City | |
| 1885 | Audience at a Parisian Theatre I (c. 1885), Graphite on cream wove paper | | Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois | |
| 1885 | Audience 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 | |
| 1897 | Whistler 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 | ||