Boldini Retrospective at Reggia di Venaria Traces His Evolution Through Four Sections

A major retrospective dedicated to Giovanni Boldini (Ferrara, 1842 – Paris, 1931) is on view at the Reggia di Venaria, coming from the Vittoriano in Rome. The exhibition follows a chronological structure, dividing Boldini's artistic journey into four sections, each highlighted by a key work. The first section covers his Florentine period (after 1846), where he absorbed Macchiaioli influences, exemplified by the 1867 portrait of his father Antonio Boldini, a painter himself. The second section focuses on his early Paris years (from 1871), where he worked with dealer Adolphe Goupil and developed his female portraiture, including Berthe reading a dedication on a fan (1878) and La contessa de Rasty coricata (1880), a pastel of his lover Gabrielle de Rasty. The third section presents his mature style, capturing contemporary life and urban rituals, such as Corse a Longchamp (1890) and Ritratto di signora in bianco con guanti e ventaglio (1889), embodying the concept of "divine" women. The final section celebrates his Belle Époque fame, solidified by his 1897 New York exhibition, with works like Ritratto di Mademoiselle De Nemidoff (1908), a portrait of an Opéra de Paris singer. The exhibition traces Boldini's shift from late-Romantic conventions to a fluid, chiaroscuro-driven style, and his obsession with female beauty as both carnal and idealized.