Portrait of Adolph Menzel
Portrait of Adolph Menzel is a magnificent drypoint realized by Giovanni Boldini in 1897. It is a precious drypoint version of a magnificent oil on canvas. The oil painting was realized by Giovanni Boldini during his stay in Germany.
Giovanni Boldini (Ferrara, 1842 – Paris, 1931) was a very important Italian portrait painter who lived and worked in Paris. He immediately shows a predisposition for drawings and for art.
Portrait of Adolph Menzel is a magnificent drypoint realized by Giovanni Boldini in 1897.
Passepartout included (cm 49 x 69). Excellent conditions.
It is a precious drypoint version of a magnificent oil on canvas. The oil painting was realized by Giovanni Boldini during his stay in Germany. According to a letter sent to Cristiano Banti in 1885, Boldini met Adolph Menzel in Berlin for the first time and realized an important end emblematic portrait for him. Adolph Menzel was considered by Giovanni Boldini one of the most influential artists of his time. Adolph Friedrich von Menzel (1815 - 1905) was an important German realist painter and engraver. The oil on canvas and the drypoint version show an extraordinary introspective ability and a sophistication for the details. Boldini gives his portraits an unmistakable originality thanks to a great technical capacity and a psychological introspection of his subjects.
Giovanni Boldini (Ferrara, 1842 – Paris, 1931) was a very important Italian portrait painter who lived and worked in Paris. He immediately shows a predisposition for drawings and for art. In 1862, he moved to Florence to study painting at the Academy of Fine Arts, where he met other realist painters known as the “Macchiaioli”, who were Italian precursors of Impressionism. He began to travel in search of new vitality and innovation. He arrived in England thanks to the kindness of Mr. Cornwally-West. Here he was inspired by important English 18th century portrait painters. After his stay in London, he attained success as a portraitist. When in moved to Paris, he started to attend the cafes and the salons, where he became the official portraitist of nobles and bourgeois. He can be definitively considered the most fashionable portrait painter in France of the late 19th century and he was known as the "Master of Swish" for his flowing and very refined style of painting.
Reference:
Buzzoni / M. Toffanello, Museo Giovanni Boldini, General catalogue. Ferrara, Ferrara Arte, 1997, p. 478.
Doria, Giovanni Boldini. General catalogue of Boldini Archives, Milano, Rizzoli, 2000, n. 349
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