Giovanni Boldini

Ferruccio Bolchini, Milan;
Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 12 June 1996, lot 126, (as The Recital);
Anonymous sale, New York, Christie's, 6 May 1998, lot 156, (as Femme Jouant au Piano);
There purchased by the present collector.

E. Somare, Storia dei pittori italiani dell' Ottocento, Milan 1928, vol. II, p. 122, reproduced Plate VI;
M. Agnellini, ed., Ottocento italiano, Novara 1997, p. 40;
"Speciale Ottocento/I top lot alle aste internazionali" in Il Giornale dell'arte, no. 177, May 1999, reproduced p. X;
G. Luigi, ed., Annuari di economia dell'arte. Il valore dei dipinti dell'Ottocento e del primo Novecento, 17^th ed., Turin 1999, p. 113;
P. Dini and F. Dini, Giovanni Boldini: 1842-1931. Catalogo ragionato, Turin 2002, vol. III, p. 143, no. 243, reproduced.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This delightful panel has been well restored and should be hung in its current condition. There is some retouching addressing frame abrasion around the left and right edges and in the lower center. In the bulk of the picture however there are no retouches and if the frame were to be reexamined, the painting would be very presentable.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

While the 1870s marked a stylistic shift in Boldini's work toward diminutive compositions featuring beautiful doll-like ladies in lavish eighteenth-century dress, it also simultaneously reinforced the artist's interest in contemporary subjects, in many cases also images of ladies depicted in a small, intimate format. Signora al Pianoforte is a charming and characteristic example from this period and showcases Boldini's astonishing ability to communicate a considerable amount of visual information on a small scale. In his Art Treasures of America, Edward 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. Most likely painted in the artist's Paris studio, Signora al Pianoforte shows a young blonde woman---his favorite model and mistress, Berthe---singing with abandon as she plays the piano. The intimacy of the scene is striking; Berthe wears a gauzy dressing gown, her eyes closed as she tosses back her head, appearing wholly unaware of her audience. A large marigold-hued fabric is draped across her lap and unfolds behind her, likely included by the artist to infuse the scene with color. A Japanese style screen--- a popular aesthetic reference for the time – is visible behind her. Boldini's brush seems to skip across the panel, as if echoing the spirited musical notes emanating from the piano. This spontaneity is especially apparent in the still-life atop the piano, which is reduced to a collection of strokes and dabs of color. A lively example of Boldini's fluid painting style, Signora al Pianoforte offers a window onto the artist's studio, his beautiful model, and a carefree moment captured by his signature animated brush.