The drawing “The Lady with the Fan”, created by Giovanni Boldini around 1915, clearly testifies to the graphic excellence achieved by the artist in full maturity. The work depicts a female figure shown in profile, characterized by the elegant use of the fan, a recurring iconographic element in Boldini’s production and a symbol of worldly grace.
From a formal point of view, the sheet is constructed through a rapid yet controlled line, capable of suggesting volume, movement and character with extreme economy of means. In particular, attention is focused on the posture and the inclination of the head, while the fan becomes the compositional focus and narrative instrument. Consequently, the figure appears alive and dynamic, despite its essentiality.
Within the context of Boldini’s career, these studies on paper play a central role. In fact, the artist, active in Paris and a protagonist of the Belle Époque, used drawing as a privileged medium to explore gesture, psychology and the elegance of the female subject. At the same time, the looseness of the line reveals a profound technical mastery, the result of decades of practice.
Description: Pencil on paper, H cm 16×9.
Notes: Work accompanied by a certificate of authenticity on photograph signed by Vito Doria, 6 June 978. Work archived at Centro Studi Boldiniani – Museo Boldini – Ferrara.
Publication: Work published in ‘Boldini – Unpublished’ – Vito Doria, Ed. Grafis 1982, p. 126.
Provenance: Private Collection – Bologna; Emilia Cadorna Boldini Collection.
Hammer Price: € 6.200,00
Auction 38 – 27 May 2020 –Paintings – Sculptures – Graphic Works
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