The Lady in Pink

Born in 1842 in Ferrara, a town in northern Italy, Boldini became firmly established in Paris from 1871 onwards. He very quickly established himself as a fashionable portraitist and an important witness to the frenetic life of this rapidly expanding, modern city, with its streets, cafés and dances. He became a friend of Edgar Degas. He came to be the most fashionable portrait painter in Paris in the late 19th century, with a dashing style of painting which shows some impressionist influence, but which closely resembles the work of his contemporaries John Singer Sargent and Paul Helleu. According to a 1933 article in the Time magazine, he was known as the ‘Master of Swish’ because of his flowing style of painting. Vincenzo, thank you for the inspiration!