Giovanni Boldini

P. Dini and F. Dini, Giovanni Boldini, 1842-1931, Catalogo Ragionato, Turin, 2002, vol. III, p. 609, no. 1210, illustrated (as Signora con Cappellino Giallo Seduta Con Cane in Braccio)
Scot D. Ryersson and Michael Orlando Yaccarino, Infinite Variety: The Life and Legend of the Marchesa Casati, Minneapolis, 2004, p. 206, note 69
Scot D. Ryersson and Michael Orlando Yaccarino, The Marchesa Casti:  Portraits of a Muse, New York 2009, p. 119, illustrated

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: This painting has probably never been properly restored. It is unlined and still on its original stretcher. There are no reinforcements on the reverse, and the inscription on the reverse is clearly visible. The paint layer is probably slightly, but not noticeably, dirty and has a fresh varnish. Boldini is a very eccentric and ostentatious artist, and his extravagant technique is on full display here. There is a large blob of white paint in the upper right, which is presumably from the artist's studio. In the remainder of the picture, there are a few cracks that catch the light and the paint layer is slightly wavy. However, there is no need to line the picture, and if it is cleaned and possibly lightly retouched in a couple of thin cracks, the painting would be ready to hang.
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It has been suggested that the sitter for this painting is the Marchesa Luisa Casati. The palette, composition and seated pose of the figure certainly recalls Boldini’s 1914 Portrait of Marchesa Luisa Casati (Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna, Rome), as do many sketches of the Marchesa in the Museo Boldini, Ferrara. She was a muse to many artists and her likeness was captured by Kees van Dongen, Jacob Epstein, Augustus John and others, and it is well-known that Boldini and the Marchesa maintained a lifelong friendship. Boldini recalls their first meeting in 1908 when her seven meter pearl necklace was scattered over a restaurant floor: “We all hurried under the tables to retrieve the pearls and it was under one table that I found myself face to face with her and saw for the first time, close up, her immense eyes” (E. Cardona, Boldini Parisien d’Italie, 1952, p. 136). Her impact on the visual arts was immense, and over 100 portraits of the Marchesa are known to exist.

 In the present work, however, with the figure in relief and without any clear distinguishing characteristics, particularly those immense and unmistakable eyes, the viewer is left to project any identity onto her. Boldini was the premier painter of high society, accepting commissions for portraits from the most fashionable among Parisian elites including the soprano Lina Cavalieri, Rita de Acosta Lydig (who also sat for Rodin, Sorolla and Zuloaga), and others.

The composition is dynamic and deceptively complex. The figure, placed on the right side of the canvas and looking out of the picture plane, is anchored by the expressive face of her dog who is making direct contact with the viewer. The black orb of her dress is balanced by the vertical stripe running the height of the left side. Boldini is well-known for his idiosyncratic brushwork, the master of “swish”, and he uses it here to activate the scene and create movement through the planes of chromatic greys and mauves.

Please note: We would like to thank Scot D. Ryersson & Michael Orlando Yaccarino of The Casati Archives for kindly confirming the identity of the sitter as Marchesa Luisa Casati and providing additional catalogue information.