No.415
description
Giovanni Boldini
(Ferrara 1845-1931) Portrait of the Actress Alice Regnault, 1880, Oil on canvas, 112 x 82 cm, framed, (W)
Giovanni Boldini: Giovanni Boldini studied for six years at the Florentine Academy. He then made a name for himself in London as a portraitist, before moving to Paris in 1872. Always at the forefront of the avant-garde, he followed the open-air and Impressionistic styles by developing a nervous, sketchy and scintillating style, which he used for landscape and genre paintings then later for portraits, as it allowed him to give a particularly precise view of an individual’s face or figure. He knew how to combine colours to make them attractive to expensive tastes, especially with portraits of ladies, which his virtuosic style renders brilliantly glamorous.
Alice Regnault: Born Augustine-Alexandrine Toulet (1849-1931); she was a French actress, and novelist. This portrait was found in the artist’s studio on his death; Alice had had an affair with his friend Alexandre Dumas’ nephew, although Dumas was not aware of the relationship. The painting had remained hidden in Boldini’s atelier since that time.
Literature: E. Cardona, R. De Grada und E. Piceni, Boldini, Milan 1964, p. 198. E. Cardona, R. De Grada und E. Piceni, Boldini, Il Torchietto, Milan 1966, p 158. L’opera completa di Boldini, Classici dell’Arte, Rizzoli, Milan 1970, p. 97, No. 76, plate XVIII. B. Doria, Giovanni Boldini, Catalogo generale degli archivi Boldini, Milan 2000, No. 172. Piero and Francesca Dini, Umberto Allemandi, Catalogo Ragionato, Publ. July 2002, p. 188, Vol III, Tomo I, illustr. No. 335
Provenance: Atelier Boldini, inventory no. 158T. Auction Paris, Galerie Charpentier, 16th June 1955, No. 29. Paris, Cino Del Duca collection Paris Auction, Couteau-Begarie, 19th Nov 2004, Lot 47 Important European Private Collection
Exhibited: Rome, Galleria d’Arte Renato Attanasio, 100 Boldini, 1951. Paris, Musee Jacquemart-Andre Boldini, 1963, No 25.
estimate €300.000,- to €400.000,-
Items marked "+" are subject to full legal VAT of 20 %, those marked "-" are subject to reduced VAT of 10 %.