Giovanni Boldini

Private Collection, Florida
By descent through the family to the present owner

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: This painting is in beautiful condition. It is painted on a single piece of mahogany. The panel is flat and the paint layer is stable and clean. Under ultraviolet light the only retouches visible are in the upper left corner where a spot or two has been addressed. The remainder of the picture is devoid of any retouches, which includes the face and the figure generally, even though some of the original colors fluoresce darkly under ultraviolet light. This painting should be hung as is.
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The present work belongs to a series of small scale, intricately detailed paintings completed soon after Boldini's visit to Versailles in May of 1875 (Dini and Dini, vol. I, p. 157). Enamored by the extravagant palace with its overwhelming architecture and rococo decoration, Boldini rented a house nearby, eager to work "from reality" on a series of eighteenth-century subjects. The expansive, manicured grounds and Versailles' seemingly endless number of fantastically appointed chambers provided infinite settings for the artist's courtly costume dramas played out by a large cast of noble figures, or in more intimate scenes such as The Last Glance in the Mirror. Here the palace's highly polished parquet floors are a stage on which a beautiful, elegantly-dressed young woman glances back over her shoulder once last time before dashing off to the fête that awaits her. As she looks in the mirror, she holds a black ruffled overcoat in her arm and a fashionable walking stick in her right hand. Her vibrant cornflower blue gown's folds, frills and bunches of fabric create a sense of movement, while its intricate floral pattern denotes its luxurious surface. While her face is turned toward the mirror, her lovely physique and gorgeous costume are prominently displayed, as if inviting the viewer to review her appearance as well. Beneath the mirror sits an elaborate Louis XV French rococo carved giltwood console, with a scarlet chinoiserie vase resting on top. The red vase creates a playful visual dialogue between her dainty red slipper and the red corsage pinned to her gown. Boiseries – ornate and intricately carved wood paneling – cover the walls, adding to the opulence of the environment.

Barbara Guidi writes: "In these paintings, with rococo atmosphere, suspended between a dream and an image of modern life, the models – almost always the blonde Berthe, Boldini's lover – sometimes appear dressed in period costume" (Barbara Guidi, "Arrival in Paris and the Search for Success," Giovanni Boldini in Impressionist Paris, Ferrara Arte S.p.A. and Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 2009, p. 96). The model for The Last Glance in the Mirror is most likely Berthe, her blonde hair in an elegant upswept coiffure, with a few curls breaking free, underscoring her youthfulness. Her cheek and lips, enhanced by rosy hues, accentuate her porcelain skin, and her contented smile suggests she is pleased with the image that confronts her in the mirror.   

The narrative and aesthetic appeal of Boldini's work is immediately evident in The Last Glance in the Mirror, and contemporary critics could not help but use equally florid language to describe such works. In his Art Treasures of America, Edward Strahan noted that Mrs. A. T. Stewart's Boldini painting The Park of Versailles in the Eighteenth Century was replete with "gallants making a leg to fine ladies in sedan chairs... the décolleté necks and pinchable little arms of these microscopic puppets show great mastery in flesh painting of the snuff box-lid scale" (fascimile edition, New York, 1977, vol. 1, p. 37). In this quality, Strahan notes the influence of Mariano Fortuny in Boldini's ability to create "spectacle" on a miniature scale, where each brushstroke is carefully applied to create intricately described details. Boldini's technique also suggests the important compositional model of contemporary master Jean-Louis Ernest Meissonier, whose works detailed scenes from France's past periods of wealth and prominence. Small in scale and jewel-like, works such as The Last Glance in the Mirror appealed to new American and European collectors alike, and many works such as this exist in prominent American public collections today.