Giovanni Boldini
Italian, 1842–1931
Young Woman Crocheting
1875
After moving to Paris in 1871, Boldini made many small paintings intended to appeal to collectors. These works often featured his favorite model, Berthe, in leisurely pursuits such as reading, strolling, or, as here, crocheting. The lively brushstrokes record a rich variety of textures, including the vibrantly patterned rug, the ruffled skirt, and the satin shoes.
Medium | oil on canvas |
Dimensions | 14 1/4 × 10 13/16 in. (36.2 × 27.4 cm) Frame: 18 5/16 × 15 3/4 × 2 5/8 in. (46.5 × 40 × 6.7 cm) |
Object Number | 1955.648 |
Acquisition | Acquired by Sterling and Francine Clark before 1955 |
Status | On View |
Image Caption
Giovanni Boldini, Young Woman Crocheting, 1875, oil on canvas. Clark Art Institute, 1955.648
Select Bibliography
Lees, Sarah, ed. Nineteenth-Century European Paintings at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute; New Haven and London: distributed by Yale University Press, 2012. Quinsac, Annie-Paule. Ottocento Painting. Exhibition catalogue. Columbia, SC: Columbia Museum of Art, 1972. Durbé, Dario, and Enrico Piceni. Three Italian Friends of the Impressionists: Boldini, De Nittis, Zandomeneghi. Exhibition catalogue. New York: Stair Sainty Matthiesen Gallery, 1984. Anonymous. "Combination Picture Sale." Art News Annual 15, no. 15 (20 January 1917): 2, 67. Cardona, Emilia, Raffaele de Grada, and Enrico Piceni. Boldini. Milan: E. I. T., 1966. Cass, David B. and John Wetenhall. Italian Paintings 1850-1910 from Collections in the Northeastern United States. Exhibition catalogue. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1982. Panconi, Tiziano. Giovanni Boldini: L'Opera Completa. Firenze: Edifir Edizioni Firenze, 2002. Ganz, James A. and Richard R. Brettell. Great French Paintings from the Clark: Barbizon through Impressionism. Exhibition catalogue. New York: Skira Rizzoli Publications; Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 2011.
EUROPEAN PAINTINGS CATALOGUE ENTRY
Provenance
[Charles Sedelmeyer, Paris, his sale, Drouot, Paris, 30 Apr.–2 May 1877, no. 112, as Jeune femme faisant du crochet]; Pedro Eugénio Daupias, Lisbon (his sale, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, 16–17 May 1892, no. 79, as Jeune femme faisant de la tapisserie); [A. Foinard, Paris]; Henry M. Johnston, New York (his sale, Fifth Avenue Art Galleries, New York, 28 Feb. 1893, no. 45, as Peaceful Days, sold to Bradley); Edson Bradley, New York and Washington (1893–1917, sale, American Art Association, New York, 17 Jan. 1917, no. 88, ill., as Peaceful Days, sold to R. H. Lorenz);¹ Mrs. Henry Walters (Sarah Green Jones), Baltimore (probably 1917–41, her sale, Parke-Bernet, New York, 30 Apr. 1941, no. 968, ill., as Peaceful Days, sold to Carstairs); [Carroll Carstairs, New York, sold to Clark, 4 June 1941, as Peaceful Days]; Robert Sterling Clark (1941–55); Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1955. 1. An annotated copy of the sale catalogue indicates that Lorenz was acting as an agent, presumably for Walters.