Giovanni Boldini 1842
- 1931
(Self Portrait, 1892) |
The Dazzling Bravura of
Giovanni Boldini
His exuberant brush captured extraordinary
realism.
iovanni Boldini (1842-1931) occupies a unique and glamorous position
in the history of portraiture. Extraordinarily successful as a painter
of European high society, his dazzling bravura style, combined with
brilliant precision, has made him one of the most admired and studied
artists of all time. In fact, he occupies a position in that fabled
"triumvirate of titans" at the very pinnacle of portrait
painting in the golden era at the close of the nineteenth century
and the beginning of the twentieth. The names of John Singer Sargent,
Boldini and Sorolla (the great Spanish master) are invariably linked
when artists discuss this period. While this remarkable trio shared
numerous characteristics, Boldini's work was distinguished by his
slashing, rapier-like brushstrokes. Boldini was, like the other
two, a consummate draftsman as well as a master painter of carefully
observed tonal values. But these qualities were often overpowered
by the explosive brush attack.
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2. Self Portrait, 1911 (detail)
This closeup reveals the power of the Boldini technique.
The artist looks out of his unflattering self-portrayal
with a jaundiced, worldly-wise appraisal. The head is
vigorously modelled with brushstrokes which have been
stabbed in with sharp decisiveness. The pince nez is
suggested with a couple of strokes. The background does
not carefully define the head, but rather swirls around
it.
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