Description:

Guiseppe Verdi Signed Photo of Famous Portrait by Boldini, Stunning!

Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901). A large and beautiful photographic reproduction by Braun et Cie of Giovanni Boldini’s famous and powerful portrait of Verdi, 1p, 8.75" x 10.5", no place, no date. Signed and inscribed by Verdi on the lower mount to his publisher Giulio Ricordi (1840-1912). Translated from Italian: "To my young - old - dear friend Giulio Ricordi / G. Verdi". Archivally matted to an overall size of 15.75" x 21.75". The inscription and signature are somewhat light. Mount is rippled with some dust staining, wear and minor chipping at two edges. Horizontal tear at the far side of the wide, blank margin, not affecting text or image. A unique and enormously important association. 

In April 1886, Verdi sat in the Paris studio of Italian portrait painter Giovanni Boldini (1842-1931) who executed this famous portrait, aptly named Portrait of Giuseppe Verdi, featuring a head and shoulders pose with Verdi in scarf and tophat. Boldini first kept this portrait to present it at the Exposition Universelle of 1889 in Paris, in Brussels in 1897, and at the first Venice Biennale in 1895, to finally give it to the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome in 1918, where it hangs today. Our richly rendered photographic portrait, clearly Verdi’s preferred likeness, was produced by the noted French photography firm founded by Adolphe Braun (1812-1877).

The phenomenal success of Verdi’s third opera, Nabucco, in 1842, brought the composer overnight recognition. Quickly proclaimed Italy’s greatest opera composer, Verdi came to symbolize a politically unified homeland because of themes found in many of his works. From 1842 to 1851, Verdi produced no less than fourteen operas and nearly as many vocal works. Following Nabucco’s success, Giovanni Ricordi, the publishing company’s founder, acquired the rights to it and nearly all of Verdi’s subsequent works, turning Ricordi into one of Italy’s most powerful music publishers.

Giulio Ricordi, Giovanni’s grandson, succeeded his father Tito in 1888, becoming the third generation to lead Casa Ricordi. Twenty-seven years younger than Verdi, Giulio maintained a close relationship with the composer, hosting him in his Lake Como villa (where Verdi is thought to have composed parts of La Traviata), and coaxing him out of retirement to compose his final works, Otello (1887) and Falstaff (1893). Ricordi’s nurturing of Verdi and other composers such as Giacomo Puccini and Umberto Giordano did much to propel Ricordi’s success.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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September 6, 2023 11:00 AM EDT
Wilton, CT, US

University Archives

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