Giovanni Boldini

This drawing has been laid down on card, and then hinged to a back board with archival tape. There is a tear and loss in the lower right corner, a further 2 inch tear at the bottom right from the edge as well as a 2 inch tear at the bottom left from the edge, and a 3 in tear from the left edge at center.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This refined drawing of an Elegant Lady Seated in a Chair is an intriguing and rare work by Boldini. Executed in trois crayons, black, red and white chalks, a style that had been practiced by such past Masters as Rubens and Watteau, it has been in the past attributed to Paul-César Helleu, a friend of Boldini who was closely associated with such technique and whose style is similar to that of the Italian Master, albeit of inferior quality (Degas dismissively nicknaming him Watteau à vapeur). The great majority of Boldini’s drawings are in black chalk or pencil, a fact that makes the present sheet particularly rare (among the several hundred drawings by the artist in the Museo Boldini in Ferrara only 15 combine the use of red and black chalk). In the present case, it allowed the artist to portray the striking auburn hair of the sitter, only enriched by contrast with her starched white collar, as well as the trimming of her hat, and even the lipstick on her lips. It is also interesting to note that the chair in which the lady is seated recurs in a number of other paintings and drawings by Boldini, and it must have been a studio prop of sorts. In fact, this chair is now in the collection of the Museo Boldini (see fig.1), where the strongly carved griffin head of the arm and scroll of the chair leg, which the artist has rapidly suggested in black chalk in this drawing, is the same. A black chalk drawing of the empty chair is also in the Museo Boldini (see A. Buzzoni & M. Toffanello, Museo Boldini, catalogo generale completamente illustrato, Ferrara 1997, p. 198).