Petit Palais Hosts First Boldini Retrospective in 60 Years

After six decades, Paris dedicates a major exhibition to Giovanni Boldini, the Italian painter of Belle Époque high society. The Petit Palais presents 'Boldini. Les plaisirs et les jours' through July 24, 2022, curated by Servane Dargnies-de Vitry and Barbara Guidi. The subtitle references Marcel Proust's prose poems, linking Boldini to the writer's world—a concurrent Proust show runs at the Musée Carnavalet. The exhibition assembles masterpieces from Paris museums, the Museo Giovanni Boldini in Ferrara, Blenheim Palace Heritage Foundation, and the Uffizi. It opens with Boldini's early landscapes and bucolic portraits, highlighting his departure from the Macchiaioli. A standout is 'Vestito scozzese' (1895) from a private collection, with swift brushwork foreshadowing his later fluid portraits. Movement is explored in horse studies and 'Fuochi d’artificio' from Ferrara. The serpentine line recurs in portraits of society women, including Princess Marthe-Lucile Bibesco (1911), whose sensual depiction was rejected by her husband. Two galleries feature costumes from the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, with support from Dior. Male portraits depict dandies like couturier Worth, Paul Poiret, Jacques Doucet, Lawrence Alexander Peter Harrison, and Count Robert de Montesquiou—the latter usually at the Musée d’Orsay. The show underscores Boldini's successful career in Paris, where he thrived among international patrons.