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Lot Essay
The present work is extraordinarily revealing about a formative part of Boldini's artistic career. The work is a quintessential example of Macchiaiolo painting (see lot 86), revealing the powerful influence of artists such as Giovanni Fattori, Giuseppe Abbati and Telemaco Signorini on the young painter. The dramatic, very horizontal composition of white oxen painted from the front at a low, raking, angle was a favourite of this influential group of artists.
Boldini met the Macchiaioli in Florence, and from 1865 he made trips with them to the countryside to escape the heat of the city. For three years, he experimented with their style of painting, producing a number of horizontal landscapes, but mostly preferring to paint portraits, to which he carried over the Macchaiolo preference for broad swathes of colour, and a characteristically low vantage point. Although Boldini himself came from a noble background, his artist friends also helped his career by introducing him into the influential circles that would prove to be a rich source of commissions.
The provenance of the present work is noteworthy. Boldini enjoyed the patronage and hospitality of a number of British expatriates in the late 1860s, and one must assume that it is through these channels that the present work came into the hands of its first owner George Mason, a well-known figure in expatriate English circles and a close friend of Frederick Leighton. The painting was subsequently owned by Edith Holman-Hunt, second wife of the famous Pre-Raphaelite painter William.
Boldini met the Macchiaioli in Florence, and from 1865 he made trips with them to the countryside to escape the heat of the city. For three years, he experimented with their style of painting, producing a number of horizontal landscapes, but mostly preferring to paint portraits, to which he carried over the Macchaiolo preference for broad swathes of colour, and a characteristically low vantage point. Although Boldini himself came from a noble background, his artist friends also helped his career by introducing him into the influential circles that would prove to be a rich source of commissions.
The provenance of the present work is noteworthy. Boldini enjoyed the patronage and hospitality of a number of British expatriates in the late 1860s, and one must assume that it is through these channels that the present work came into the hands of its first owner George Mason, a well-known figure in expatriate English circles and a close friend of Frederick Leighton. The painting was subsequently owned by Edith Holman-Hunt, second wife of the famous Pre-Raphaelite painter William.