Giovanni Boldini (1842 - 1931) “the Last Self-portrait” Oil On Canvas Cm 22,5x17

Giovanni Boldini 1842 - 1931 -
“The Last Self-Portrait” Oil on canvas Cm 22,5x17 This small painting, likely representing Giovanni Boldini’s final self-portrait at the age of eighty, displays a distinctive technique in which forms are drawn with long, expressive brushstrokes. The artist favors dark tones blended with white, judiciously distributed across the canvas through contrasting shadings with darker varnish to lend volume and depth to the subject. It is a work that simultaneously echoes both Macchiaioli and Impressionist sensibilities. Another characteristic feature of Boldini’s style is the precision with which he renders facial features —set in striking contrast to the extreme fluidity and speed of his brushwork throughout the rest of the composition. The background, painted in an uneven brown tone, reflects Boldini’s preferred approach for portraiture, as it accentuates the foreground and brings the figure into sharp focus. In this depiction of a refined, mature gentleman—wearing a red scarf and a coral button, holding a cigarette in his right hand—the artist deliberately softens his own facial features and presents himself with a proud and professional gaze. Boldini, known for his short stature, softens his proportions by wearing an elegant black suit and portraying himself in a three-quarter view, thereby offering an image of a sophisticated, accomplished, and successful man. Supporting this attribution—clearly tied to a unique style and character—is the original gilded frame, identical to those Boldini used in other small-scale works. On the reverse of the cardboard backing appears the stamp, street name, and address of one of the finest art suppliers of the time: Paul Denis, 19 Rue de Médicis – Paris— the same supplier who provided canvases to both Boldini a