Ritratto di Suzy

Details

Giovanni Boldini (Italian, 1842-1931)
Ritratto di Suzy
signed 'Boldini' (lower left)
oil on canvas
24 x 19 5/8 in. (61 x 50 cm.)
Painted circa 1925

Provenance

The artist's studio (no. 81T).
Piceni collection, Milan.
Private collection, Genoa.
By descent to the present owner.

Literature

E. Camesasca & C.L. Ragghianti, L'opera completa di Boldini, Milan, 1970, pp. 132-133, no. 579 (illustrated).
Exh. cat., Giovanni Boldini, Genoa, Banco di Chiavari e della Riviera Ligura, p. 93, no. 42 (illustrated).
B. Doria, Giovanni Boldini, Catalogo generale dagli Archivi Boldini, Milan, 2000, no. 689 (illustrated).
P. Dini & F. Dini, Boldini 1842-1931: catalogo ragionato, Turin, 2003, pp. 602-603, no. 1191 (illustrated).

Exhibited

Genoa, Banco di Chiavari e della Riviera Ligure, Giovanni Boldini, 9 October - 7 November 1987, no. 42.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

The sitter in the present work is Suzy Lecormie, one of Boldini's favourite models. Boldini probably met Suzy in Brittany, and was instantly smitten by her. He invited her down to Cannes -- ostensibly to cure the consumption which afflicted her -- where she joined him in February 1926. Suzy accompanied Boldini on most of his travels for the rest of the year. The depth of Boldini's affection for his muse is revealed in a photo he sent of the couple, on which he wrote "Here is a picture of Mr and Mrs Boldini in Cannes waiting for spring."

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