The Lascaraky sisters

This small panel from 1869 shows three sisters of the Lascaraky family, of Russian origin and settled in Florence, during a domestic afternoon. Seated on a sofa, they are busy sewing in an atmosphere of familiarity. The young woman in the centre stretches her legs until her feet rest on the round table, an informal gesture that breaks with the stiffness of the salon portrait and heightens the sense of intimacy. The eldest, on the left, has paused her work to glance at the painter, revealing the closeness between them. Boldini, who was then earning good money as a portraitist, made works like this apart from his official commissions. His association with the Macchiaioli, who sought a painting free from academic convention, can be seen in the vigorous brushwork, the energetically applied colour and the studio background with pictures and objects on the wall. Rather than a formal portrait, the work reads as an intimate record of a particular moment, which is why it matters in the development of the genre.

Painter

Giovanni Boldini

Date

1869

Medium

oil paint, panel

Dimensions

14 × 22 cm

Museum

Museo Boldini, Ferrara

Movement

Macchiaioli

Genre

portrait

Depicts

couch, sibling, sewing

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