Art History Series: François Boucher (1703 - 1770)
- Ladureena
- Apr 16, 2024
- 1 min read
Updated: Apr 29, 2024
Today we continue the series on France with an artist who is involved in a large part of the history of Versailles Chateaux and is a bold representative of the French and Italian schools.
Francois Boucher is a French artist who worked in the Rococo style and was heavily inspired by Rubens and Watteau for whom I already told you about. He is known for his idyllic and lavish paintings on classical subjects, decorative allegories and pastoral scenes. His early works celebrate nature and the tranquility of the landscapes, which he paints with great elan. In most cases, however, he deviates from the typical innocence of this type of work and relies on a large dose of eroticism. His mythological scenes are intimate, tender and amorous rather than epic, for which he was heavily criticized at first, but revered after.
Madame Pompadour, whose name became synonymous with the Rococo style, was a strong supporter of his and the portraits he produced of her were a large part of her presentation to the world and I cannot wait to tell you more about her at a later point.
He also produced numerous family scenes, theater sets and wall tapestries. Boucher also often worked for the part of the royal household responsible for events, the opera and the châteaux at Versailles, Fontainebleau and Choisy. There are numerous designs used for porcelain figurines and biscuit tins in the crown-owned factories of Vincennes and Sèvres.
In the twilight of his life, the reputation of his early years was replaced by fame and honor, rising to the title of First Painter to the King in 1765.
Regards,
Julia
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