On 31st December 1842 Giovanni Boldini was born at Ferrara. The son of a painter of religious subjects, and the younger brother of architect Luigi (Louis) Boldini.
1872. Giovanni Boldini [aged 29]. "The Guitar Player".
1873-75. Giovanni Boldini [aged 30]. "Crossing the Street".
1874. Giovanni Boldini [aged 31]. "Washerwomen".
1875. Giovanni Boldini [aged 32]. "The Letter".
1875. Giovanni Boldini [aged 32]. "Young Woman Crocheting".
1875. Giovanni Boldini [aged 32]. "Woman at a Piano".
1875. Giovanni Boldini [aged 32]. "Peaceful Days".
1879. Giovanni Boldini [aged 36]. "Return of the Fishing Boats, Étretat".
1886 or 1892. Giovanni Boldini [aged 43]. Portrait of Madame Gabrielle Rejane.
1887. Giovanni Boldini [aged 44]. Portrait of Contessa de Leusse.
William of Worcester's Chronicle of England
William of Worcester, born around 1415, and died around 1482 was secretary to John Fastolf, the renowned soldier of the Hundred Years War, during which time he collected documents, letters, and wrote a record of events. Following their return to England in 1440 William was witness to major events. Twice in his chronicle he uses the first person: 1. when writing about the murder of Thomas, 7th Baron Scales, in 1460, he writes '… and I saw him lying naked in the cemetery near the porch of the church of St. Mary Overie in Southwark …' and 2. describing King Edward IV's entry into London in 1461 he writes '… proclaimed that all the people themselves were to recognize and acknowledge Edward as king. I was present and heard this, and immediately went down with them into the city'. William’s Chronicle is rich in detail. It is the source of much information about the Wars of the Roses, including the term 'Diabolical Marriage' to describe the marriage of Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s brother John’s marriage to Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, he aged twenty, she sixty-five or more, and the story about a paper crown being placed in mockery on the severed head of Richard, 3rd Duke of York.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
1888. Giovanni Boldini [aged 45]. Portrait of Emiliana Concha de Ossa.
1888. Giovanni Boldini [aged 45]. Portrait of Signorina Concha de Ossa.
1889. Giovanni Boldini [aged 46]. Portrait of Princesse de Carman Chimay.
1889. Giovanni Boldini [aged 46]. Portrait of a Lady.
1890. Giovanni Boldini [aged 47]. Portrait of John Singer Sargent [aged 33].
1892. Giovanni Boldini [aged 49]. Self-Portrait.
1892 to 1894. Giovanni Boldini [aged 49]. Portrait of Signora Bruna.
1896. Giovanni Boldini [aged 53]. Portrait of Madame Charles Max.
1897. Giovanni Boldini [aged 54]. Portrait of Gertrude Elizabeth Blood.
1898. Giovanni Boldini [aged 55]. Portrait of Maria Eualia of Spain.
1899. Giovanni Boldini [aged 56]. Portrait of La Contessa Speranza.
1901. Giovanni Boldini [aged 58]. Portrait of Lina Cavalieri.
1901. Giovanni Boldini [aged 58]. Portrait of Lina Cavalieri.
1901. Giovanni Boldini [aged 58]. Portrait of Gladys Marie Deacon Duchess of Marlborough [aged 19].
Gladys Marie Deacon Duchess of Marlborough: On 7th February 1881 she was born. In 1921 Charles Richard John Spencer-Churchill 9th Duke of Marlborough and she were married; she had previoiusly been his mistress. She by marriage Duchess Marlborough. He the son of George Charles Spencer-Churchill 8th Duke of Marlborough and Albertha Frances Anne Hamilton Duchess of Marlborough. On 13th October 1977 she died.
Abbot John Whethamstede’s Chronicle of the Abbey of St Albans
Abbot John Whethamstede's Register aka Chronicle of his second term at the Abbey of St Albans, 1451-1461, is a remarkable text that describes his first-hand experience of the beginning of the Wars of the Roses including the First and Second Battles of St Albans, 1455 and 1461, respectively, their cause, and their consequences, not least on the Abbey itself. His text also includes Loveday, Blore Heath, Northampton, the Act of Accord, Wakefield, and Towton, and ends with the Coronation of King Edward IV. In addition to the events of the Wars of the Roses, Abbot John, or his scribes who wrote the Chronicle, include details in the life of the Abbey such as charters, letters, land exchanges, visits by legates, and disputes, which provide a rich insight into the day-to-day life of the Abbey, and the challenges faced by its Abbot.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
1903. Giovanni Boldini [aged 60]. Portrait of Lady Nanne Schrader.
Around 1905. Giovanni Boldini [aged 62]. Portrait of Marthe de Florian.
1905. Giovanni Boldini [aged 62]. Portrait of Mrs Henry Lehr aka Elizabeth Wharton Drexel Baroness Decies [aged 36].
1905. Giovanni Boldini [aged 62]. "La Divina in Blue".
1906. Giovanni Boldini [aged 63]. Portrait of Consuelo Vanderbilt Duchess of Marlborough [aged 28] and her son Ivor Charles Spencer-Churchill [aged 7].
Ivor Charles Spencer-Churchill: On 14th October 1898 he was born to Charles Richard John Spencer-Churchill 9th Duke of Marlborough and Consuelo Vanderbilt Duchess of Marlborough. The Duke's secondd wife Gladys Deacon apparently later implied that Ivor's father was Winthrop Rutherford; source unknown. On 17th September 1956 Ivor Charles Spencer-Churchill died. He was buried at St Martin's Church, Bladon [Map].
1906. Giovanni Boldini [aged 63]. Portrait of Mrs Howard Johnston.
1907. Giovanni Boldini [aged 64]. Portrait of Mlle Lantelme.
1907. Giovanni Boldini [aged 64]. Portrait of Gladys Dacon.
1908. Giovanni Boldini [aged 65]. Portrait of Mlle Nemidoff.
1908. Giovanni Boldini [aged 65]. Portrait of Mrs Whitney Warren.
1910. Giovanni Boldini [aged 67]. Portrait of Princess Cécile Murat.
Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke
Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
1911. Giovanni Boldini [aged 68]. Portrait of Princess Martha Bibescu nee Lahovary [aged 24].
Princess Martha Bibescu nee Lahovary: On 28th January 1886 she was born. In 1902 Prince George Valentin Bibesco and she were married. On 28th November 1973 she died.
1911. Giovanni Boldini [aged 68]. Portrait of Rita de Acosta Lydig [aged 35].
Rita de Acosta Lydig: In October 1875 he was born at New York. On 27th October 1929 he died.
1912. Giovanni Boldini [aged 69]. Portrait of a Lady.
1913. Giovanni Boldini [aged 70]. Portrait of Lina Bilitis with two Pekingese.
1914. Giovanni Boldini [aged 71]. Portrait of Luisa Adele Rosa Maria Amman Marchesa Casati [aged 32].
1924. Giovanni Boldini [aged 81]. Portrait of Donna Franca Florio.
Before 1931. Giovanni Boldini [aged 88]. Portrait of Luisa Adele Rosa Maria Amman Marchesa Casati [aged 49] With A Greyhound.
Before 1931. Giovanni Boldini [aged 88]. Portrait of Cleo de Morode.
Before 1931. Giovanni Boldini [aged 88]. "The Black Sash".
Before 1931. Giovanni Boldini [aged 88]. "Lady in Red".
Before 1931. Giovanni Boldini [aged 88]. "Portrait of a Lady".
The True Chronicles of Jean le Bel Volume 1 Chapters 1-60 1307-1342
The True Chronicles of Jean le Bel offer one of the most vivid and immediate accounts of 14th-century Europe, written by a knight who lived through the events he describes, and experienced some of them first hand. Covering the early decades of the Hundred Years’ War, this remarkable chronicle follows the campaigns of Edward III of England, the politics of France and the Low Countries, and the shifting alliances that shaped medieval warfare. Unlike later historians, Jean le Bel writes with a strong sense of eyewitness authenticity, drawing on personal experience and the testimony of fellow soldiers. His narrative captures not only battles and sieges, but also the realities of military life, diplomacy, and the ideals of chivalry that governed noble society. A key source for Jean Froissart, Le Bel’s chronicle stands on its own as a compelling and insightful work, at once historical record and literary achievement. This translation builds on the 1905 edition published in French by Jules Viard, adding extensive translations from other sources Rymer's Fœdera, the Chronicles of Adam Murimuth, William Nangis, Walter of Guisborough, a Bourgeois of Valenciennes, Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke and Richard Lescot to enrich the original text and Viard's notes.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
Before 1931. Giovanni Boldini [aged 88]. "Spanish Dancer at the Moulin Rouge".
Before 1931. Giovanni Boldini [aged 88]. Portrait of Madame Josephina Alvear De Errazuriz.
On 11th January 1931 Giovanni Boldini [aged 88] died. The New York Times: "Boldini was a fashionable portrait painter. He 'did' all the grandes dames of Paris, and at a certain period to have a portrait painted by Boldini was a crowning event of social season. His style was racy and advanced for his time, and he believed that his décolleté paintings touched the extreme limit of convention. His work was the talk of numerous salons. And then he was superseded by Vandongens and Etcheverrys and Domergues and others whose daring shocked and discouraged Boldini. He had not painted for many years before his death. His body was taken to Ferrara, his native city, for burial."