Spanish Dancer at the Moulin Rouge

Boldini was born in Ferrara, Italy, the son of a painter of religious subjects. In 1862 he went to Florence for six years to study and pursue painting. He only infrequently attended classes at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, but in Florence he met other realist painters known as the Macchiaioli. Their influence is seen in Boldini's landscapes which show his spontaneous response to nature. Boldini became best known for his portraits. From 1872 he lived in Paris, where he was a friend of Edgar Degas. He became the most fashionable portrait painter in Paris in the late 19th century with a dashing style of painting which shows some Impressionist influence. Giovanni Boldini is a character in the ballet, Franca Florio, regina di Palermo, written in 2007 by the Italian composer Lorenzo Ferrero. The ballet depicts the story of Donna Franca, a famous Sicilian aristocrat whose exceptional beauty inspired Boldini and many other artists, musicians, poets and emperors during the Belle Époque.