Tuesday, November 9, 2010

The Hidden Boldini

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Yesterday I did a post about Boldini and mentioned the fact that a painting had been found in a house in Paris which had been left empty and locked up for over seventy years, I found this story so extraordinary I thought I would investigate further, here is the full article from The Telegraph 4th October 2010:
 
'Behind the door, under a thick layer of dusk lay a treasure trove of turn-of-the-century objects including a painting by the 19th century Italian artist Giovanni Boldini. 
The woman who owned the flat had left for the south of France before the Second World War and never returned.
But when she died recently aged 91, experts were tasked with drawing up an inventory of her possessions and homed in on the flat near the Trinité church in Paris between the Pigalle red light district and Opera.
Entering the untouched, cobweb-filled flat in Paris' 9th arrondissement, one expert said it was like stumbling into the castle of Sleeping Beauty, where time had stood still since 1900. 

"There was a smell of old dust," said Olivier Choppin-Janvry, who made the discovery. Walking under high wooden ceilings, past an old wood stove and stone sink in the kitchen, he spotted a stuffed ostrich and a Mickey Mouse toy dating from before the war, as well as an exquisite dressing table. 

But he said his heart missed a beat when he caught sight of a stunning tableau of a woman in a pink muslin evening dress. 

The painting was by Boldini and the subject a beautiful Frenchwoman who turned out to be the artist's former muse and whose granddaughter it was who had left the flat uninhabited for more than half a century.
The muse was Marthe de Florian, an actress with a long list of ardent admirers, whose fervent love letters she kept wrapped neatly in ribbon and were still on the premises. Among the admirers was the 72nd prime minister of France, George Clemenceau, but also Boldini. 

The expert had a hunch the painting was by Boldini, but could find no record of the painting. "No reference book dedicated to Boldini mentioned the tableau, which was never exhibited," said Marc Ottavi, the art specialist he consulted about the work. 

When Mr Choppin-Janvry found a visiting card with a scribbled love note from Boldini, he knew he had struck gold. "We had the link and I was sure at that moment that it was indeed a very fine Boldini".
He finally found a reference to the work in a book by the artist's widow, which said it was painted in 1898 when Miss de Florian was 24. 

The starting price for the painting was €300,000 but it rocketed as ten bidders vyed for the historic work. Finally it went under the hammer for €2.1 million, a world record for the artist.
"It was a magic moment. One could see that the buyer loved the painting; he paid the price of passion," said Mr Ottavi.'

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'Madame de Florian' the hidden Boldini!

14 comments:

  1. what an amazing story....if only I had an attic!!

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  2. Intriguing...thanks for sharing this!

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  3. What an amazing story! Can you imagine being the first person to step into that apartment where time had in fact stood still since the war. So expressively written, you feel as though you were there making the discovery with them.

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  4. Oh how wonderful ! I love stories like this ..

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  5. What a great story Dash...I love the descriptions, just imagine!

    Jeanne :)

    PS... could be hanging in the Wallace Collection, looks very similar to what I saw yesterday. Now there is a treasure trove!

    http://jeanne-findingmyway.blogspot.com/2010/11/loving-london-raindrops.html

    Jeanne xx

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  6. This is truly an amazing story.
    I wonder how many more treasures are hidden away in deserted apartments and attics in Europe.

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  7. Fascinating, thank you for researching the whole story for us.

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  8. Wow. Am so glad I found your blog - for stories like this. Wonderful stuff!

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  9. It's almost impossible to believe that a home could lie uninvestigated like that for so long.

    Well, let's be honest I really mean unburgled or squatted!

    What a beautiful painting! The photos are like glimpsing into a pharaoh's tomb!

    Lovely post, Dash.

    Ali x

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  10. Truly amazing! I think if I had been the one who walked into the apartment, I would have been speechless for days.
    Thanks for sharing the story x

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  11. I have just found your blog and I think it’s wonderful! xx

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  12. Simply LOVED this article! Wish I was the first to get in there after so many years!
    Love this "time capsule"concept.
    I've recently had a "similar" experience finding newspapers from the 1940's in my apartment (does not compare to this, though!), but is was fun for me!!Please see it on my blog:

    http://lulucentral.blogspot.com/2010/08/urban-archeology-amazing-stuff-found-on.html

    Continue being an amazing blogger!
    Congratulations on your blog.

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  13. So what really happened? Why did she leave it like that? Does anyone know 'the rest of the story'?

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