Giovanni Boldini (Italian, 1842-1931)

Donna Franca Jacona della Motta dei baroni di San Giuliano (1873-1950) was considered by Jean Philippe Worth to be the best-dressed and most beautiful woman in Italy, while her husband’s fortune afforded her the life of a sovereign. At the age of 19, Donna Franca married Don Ignazio Florio (1869-1957).
The Florio family owned, among other estates, the Villa Igiea and Villino all’Olivuzza in Palermo where they entertained royalty, including Wilhelm II, Emperor of Germany. While Don Ignazio’s enterprises included the Marsala Florio, his other projects resulted in the Teatro Massimo, the Palermo Hospital and the Institute for the Blind, which competed in grandeur with the latest government constructions, such as the Palace of Justice in Rome.
The famous full-length portrait of the sitter, sold at Christie’s in 1995, is considered one of Boldini’s most accomplished masterpieces.
The present portrait, datable circa 1924, shows the sitter in a more natural and intimate pose, gazing at the viewer, with a simple but shimmering short pearl necklace.