An upcoming exhibition in Ferrara promises to show a quieter, more reflective side of Giovanni Boldini, a local boy who made it big painting flashy portraits of high-society Paris.
Although Boldini's (1842-1931) reputation was based on his work as a portrait artist, the show in Palazzo dei Diamanti will focus on his early years in Paris, when he honed his skills capturing everyday life in the French capital.
Covering the period 1871 to 1886, the exhibit will feature around 100 paintings showcasing the talents of an artist fascinated by a range of styles and subjects.
A series of cityscapes spotlight Boldini's interpretation of modern life: crowded streets and squares filled with people, carriages and horse-drawn buses.
These paintings often demonstrate an attention to detail and a gritty realism unfamiliar to fans of the artist's later works, with their sweeping brushstrokes and gloss of brilliance and beauty.
Like his close friend Edgar Degas, Boldini spent a great deal of time frequenting the Parisian world of theatres and cafes, where dancers, singers, musicians, audiences and conductors all provided fuel for his work.
Paris and its people appear most often in Boldini's work of this era but he also spent time outside the city, painting the countryside further along the River Seine or by the coast.
These outdoor works, featuring a variety of landscapes and peoples, won recognition for their crystalline light and minute attention to colour and detail.
Organized thematically rather than chronologically, the exhibition also offers a section on a kind of running ''diary'' of sketches and paintings by Boldini that recorded his life and work.
Another section brings together his intimate paintings of women at home, while a third maps out developments in his portraiture that laid the groundwork for his later, more famous pieces.
Boldini eventually became hugely popular in turn-of-the-century Paris, capturing the lifestyle and faces of the era's fashionable celebrities.
Although born in Ferrara, he spent most of his adult life in the French capital, where he settled at the age of 30.
He started out with small-scale works, concentrating on scenes of city life but rose to prominence painting society portraits.
His style was based on bold, fluid brushstrokes that imbued his work with energy and drew the praise of fellow artists, while his subjects attracted the attention of Parisian high society.
As his popularity spread, Boldini found his services in request across Europe and as far as America, where his attention to detail and brilliant use of colour won him great success.
Boldini nella Parigi degli Impressionisti (Boldini in the Impressionist Paris) runs in Palazzo dei Diamanti from September 20 until January 10.
