Scène de rue 1869 - 1931

Giovanni Boldini’s Scène de rue, quickly sketched, evokes the whirlwind of modern life through its abstracted figures and chaotic lines. Central to the composition is the portrayal of women, their forms suggested rather than defined, adorned with large hats and bustles, symbols of status and allure. The sweeping lines and fragmented forms echo the dynamism found in baroque masterpieces, where movement and emotion take precedence over precise detail. The fleeting quality of the sketch, coupled with its subject, embodies the spirit of the flâneur, the observer of urban life, capturing the ephemeral nature of existence. Consider how Boldini uses absence as much as presence, mirroring the psychoanalytic concept of repression, where suppressed desires and memories find expression through veiled forms. The raw energy and urgency in the sketch resonate with a collective memory of change and transformation, inviting us to feel the pulse of a world in constant motion, a dance of visibility and invisibility.