Giovanni Boldini was an Italian genre and portrait painter who lived and worked in Paris for most of his career.
11 Facts About Giovanni Boldini
2.
Giovanni Boldini was the son of a painter of religious subjects, and the younger brother of architect Luigi Boldini.
3.
Giovanni Boldini completed portraits of distinguished members of society including Lady Holland and the Duchess of Westminster.
4.
Giovanni Boldini 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.
5.
Giovanni Boldini was nominated commissioner of the Italian section of the Paris Exposition in 1889, and received the Legion d'honneur for this appointment.
6.
Giovanni Boldini participated in the Venice Biennale in 1895,1903,1905, and 1912.
7.
Giovanni Boldini 'did' all the grandes dames of Paris, and at a certain period to have a portrait painted by Boldini was a crowning event of social season.
8.
Giovanni Boldini's style was racy and advanced for his time, and he believed that his decollete paintings touched the extreme limit of convention.
9.
Giovanni Boldini had not painted for many years before his death.
10.
Giovanni Boldini's body was taken to Ferrara, his native city, for burial.
11.
Giovanni Boldini is a character in the ballet Franca Florio, regina di Palermo, written in 2007 by the Italian composer Lorenzo Ferrero, which depicts the story of Donna Franca, a famous Sicilian aristocrat whose exceptional beauty inspired him and many other artists, musicians, poets and emperors during the Belle Epoque.