Giovanni Boldini was just 25 when he painted this portrait of his father Antonio.
Antonio Boldini by Giovanni Boldini, 1867
Giovanni grew up in an artistic family. His father was a painter of religious subjects Ferrara, Italy and his brother was an architect. Young Giovanni traveled to Florence, where he studied at the Academy. He befriended other realist painters in the school of Italian impressionistic realism known as the Macchiaioli.
There's a Boldini exhibition going on now in Paris until July 24th (Thanks, Peace)
Giovanni Boldini on Wikipedia.
There is a huge retrospective of his work being shown at the Petite Palais in Paris right now. I've always been a fan of his work, and it was wonderful to see the output and development of his work. My favorite pieces in the show were the smallest; tiny landscapes. They were 5 x 7 inches and packed with details, and the handling of painting water only second to Zorn. Of interest was how he tried to engage with modernism and cubism later in his career. To my knowledge I can't recall anyone who could draw that well, and then try to absorb the Cubist/modernism aesthetic...for him it wasn't an improvement to his work. But, it is interesting to see how he tried to incorporate it into his work.
ReplyDeleteI photographed the entire show, and I could put it in a google drive for you to use for your blog if you like James. Thank you for all you do for us.
Thanks for the info, Peace. Sure, if you could share the images, I'd love it. I've added a link to the Petit Palais show.
ReplyDeleteThe Clark Art Institute in Massachusetts has some of his tiny landscapes, and they hosted a show of his work from his early Paris years.