Woman in black looking at the “Pastel of Mrs. Emiliana Concha de Ossa”, c. 1888

Oil on panel, 80.5 x 64.5 cm
Museo Giovanni Boldini, inv. 1367

In the second half of the 1880s, Boldini’s repertoire was enriched with a new genre devoted to the interiors of the home and atelier. One of the most complex proofs of this quest is the panel depicting his studio on Boulevard Berthier with a woman from behind intent on admiring one of the painter’s most famous works, the Portrait of Emiliana Concha de Ossa, also known as White crayon. Questo dipinto è un’intelligente interpretazione del tema del doppio: il ritratto della giovane cilena è punto focale della composizione e, al contempo, quinta scenica sulla quale si staglia la silhouette nera della modella che si “riflette” nella sua stessa effigie. L’inserimento di altri quadri abbozzati sullo sfondo, che creano complessi giochi di immagine nell’immagine, dichiara il debito verso Las meninas, a masterpiece by Velázquez that had inspired artists admired by Boldini, such as Manet and Degas, views of interiors centered on the theme of the “picture within a picture.” The private and experimental nature of this work is underscored by some sketches of a female nude made on the left side.

Always remaining in the artist’s collection, the painting became part of the Ferrara collections in 1934 along with the first nucleus of works donated by the painter’s widow Emilia Cardona.