Giovanni Boldini
(Italian, 1842-1931)


Suonatrice di lira e ascoltatrice (Woman Playing a Lyre and a Listener) (1875).
Oil on canvas.

A consummate example of the Rococo revival. Two women wrapped in ruffled layers of pink and white silks relax on a settee in the midst of an ornate room delicately balanced by a unifying palette of pastel hues.

From the cream-colored doors opening onto other sumptuous rooms to the golden sphinx proudly spreading its wings on the guéridon, the painting pulsates with opulent splendor.