Giovanni Boldini ....

painted Gladys Deacon and most of High Society of her day (turn of the century). He's out of favour now - don't know what he'd fetch at Sotheby's but it'd be a laughable amount compared to e.g. one of Hirst's medicine shelves (where he's amused himself by arranging his bottles and packets to suit-- y'know, AS YOU DO --- oops, concept tsk tsk concept)
However i am going to take a gamble and suggest this deeply unfashionable artist has a bit of the smidgeon of forerunner to BACON in that thin/fat application, energy and purpose? To utterly opposing ends of course (but who's to say Boldini did not have his rebel moments b4 the lure of lucre got him by the throat?)

there are some stunning passages here -- pity they've been applied to La Bella Play-doh

: /