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

Cunningham, Charles C., et al. The Elegant Academics: Chroniclers of 19th-Century Parisian Life. Exhibition catalogue. Williamstown, MA: The Clark, 1974. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1970. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1972. Amaya, Mario. "The Art of the Ottocento." Art News 72 (January 1973): 5860. Lucie-Smith, Edward and Celestine Dars. How the Rich Lived: The Painter as Witness 18701914. London: Paddington Press, 1976. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1984. Kern, Steven, ed. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1992. Dini, Piero and Francesca Dini. Catalogo Ragionato della Pittura a Olio con un'Ampia Selezione di Pastelli, Acquerelli e Disegni. Volume III of Giovanni Boldini, 18421931: Catalogo ragionato. Torino: Umberto Allemandi & C., 2002. Lees, Sarah. Giovanni Boldini in Impressionist Paris. Exhibition catalogue. With contributions by Richard Kendall and Barbara Guidi. Ferrara, Italy: Ferrara Arte; Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 2009.
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.

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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.