Boldini, Giovanni (1842-1931) , Italian painter, noted for his portraits of Italian, British, and French celebrities. He was born in Ferrara, in northern Italy. The son of a painter, he studied painting in Florence, where he associated with a group of realist painters known as the Macchiaioli. After moving to Paris in 1867, he began painting portraits and landscapes influenced by the work of French painter Édouard Manet. From 1869 to 1872 he lived in London, painting portraits of American artist James McNeill Whistler and other celebrities, before returning to Paris. His later work includes portraits of Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi (1886, Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna, Rome) and of Count Robert de Montesquieu (1897, Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris).