|
3. La Tenda Rossa, 1904
This small oil study, unusual
in composition (almost abstract),
offers some noteworthy features
for study. The entire left
third of the painting consists
of rapid vertical brushstrokes.
All the detail is restricted
to the central third. Note
the calligraphic-like strokes
that define the very expressive
hand.
The brushstrokes flow with
a very sensuous freedom. There
is considerable animation
and movement in the strokes
defining the hair. The face
is captured at an expressive,
mobile moment—no stiff
repose here! The sitter is
smoking a cigarette and speaking
as the portrait is achieved.
Of particular interest is
the flow of one form into
another—the hair flows
into the background and into
the dress; the objects in
the background merge gently
into each other. This technique
captures the vibrant, living
quality of the young woman.
Click painting to enlarge.
Oil
on canvas, 14 x 10 inches
(36 x 26 cm). Collection,
Rizzoli, Milan
|
iovanni Boldini (1842-1931) occupies a unique
and glamorous position in the history of portraiture.
Extraordinarily successful as a painter of European
high society, his dazzling bravura style, combined
with brilliant precision, has made him one of
the most admired and studied artists of all
time. In fact, he occupies a position in that
fabled "triumvirate of titans" at
the very pinnacle of portrait painting in the
golden era at the close of the nineteenth century
and the beginning of the twentieth. The names
of John Singer Sargent, Boldini and Sorolla
(the great Spanish master) are invariably linked
when artists discuss this period. While this
remarkable trio shared numerous characteristics,
Boldini's work was distinguished by his slashing,
rapier-like brushstrokes. Boldini was, like
the other two, a consummate draftsman as well
as a master painter of carefully observed tonal
values. But these qualities were often overpowered
by the explosive brush attack.