Countess de Leusse, c. 1889-90

Oil on canvas, 200.5 x 101 cm
Museo Giovanni Boldini, inv. 1362

Between the late 1880s and the beginning of the following decade, Boldini reached the pinnacle of success as a portrait painter of international high society. He developed a personal style that emphasized the loveliness and spirited elegance of the protagonists of his canvases, restoring the most authentic spirit of the Belle Époque. His mature portraiture is characterized by a brilliant effervescence rendered with swirling brushstrokes that transfer to canvas the vibrant and bursting energy of modern life. Between 1889 and 1890, Boldini portrayed the young Suzanne Berthier, wife of Viscount Georges de Leusse, with an elegant evening gown enhanced by a pair of long gloves and a fan. The slender, sophisticated figure of the countess stands out against a neutral background that emphasizes the sudden movement of her hands opening the fan. The young woman turns her gaze to her left in a pose that highlights the fineness of the facial features and the French-nosed profile. Boldini chose to leave the long strokes of the underlying drawing partially visible, showing a frayed painting that restores an impression of image fading and movement.

The work became part of the civic collections in 1974 along with other paintings and memorabilia from the Boldini collection and sold by the painter’s widow to the City of Ferrara.