Giovanni Boldini, "Crossing the Street"

Giovanni Boldini, Crossing the Street, 1873/1875; The Clark Art Institute.

This painting by Giovanni Boldini is beautifully detailed, with rich coloring, natural flesh tones and a true sense of depth, space, and the dynamic flow of real life. You can almost smell those flowers. The sketchy, blue-tinted version below — possibly an over-processed photo — has a thin, weak and blotchy appearance that fails to reach the heights of the original. Even so, it's seen frequently as a substitute for the genuine painting. The museum notes that the authentic work was dated twice by the artist, possibly indicating that he finished or reworked it two years after he began.

Altered version of a painting by Giovanni Boldini.