1703 - 1770

François Boucher

Rococo

Museum Quality François Boucher Oil Painting Reproductions

The most celebrated decorative artist, painter, draughtsman, and multitalented Parisian of the XVIII century, Francois Boucher was born in September of 1703. The Rococo artist also delved in the art of theater by working with costume and set design and also designs for tapestry. Along with oil painting, he worked with printmaking, like engraving woodcuts, and etching copper plates, which he concluded about 180 pieces. Printmaking made it possible for artists of the time to spread their artwork to a broader public since they were easier to purchase than oil paintings. His first artistic training came from his father, Nicolas Boucher, also an artist with little-recorded information.

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Boucher’s talent became recognized from an early age. At only seventeen, François Lemoyne, a Rococo painter, enjoyed his work and invited Boucher to become his student. Although this was an excellent opportunity for a young artist, after only three months he decided to change his path and began to study and work with engraving under the teachings of Jean-François Cars. His early carrier was marked by calm portrayals of landscapes, as well as idyllic and pastoral scenes. He was greatly inspired by masters like Jean-Antoine Watteau and Peter Paul Rubens. Along with the innocence of the rural views in Boucher's paintings, he was also able to take an opposite approach with more sensuality.

In 1720, Boucher won a scholarship to study painting in Italy, called Grand Prix de Rome. Because of his financial pendencies at the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, the artist would only take the scholarship five years later. In 1731, he returned to Paris and continued studying at the now reestablished Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. The artist’s greatest admirer and patron was Marquise de Pompadour. In fact, she was known to be the godmother of the Rococo movement, as well as becoming famous as King Louis XV’s mistress. Boucher concluded many portraits of her, as well as other artists like Maurice Quentin de La Tour

The renown Jacques-Louis David, who was a distant relative of the Rococo painter, began his artistic training under Boucher. Since during this period the Neo-Classical style was starting to overshadow the Rococo, Boucher thought it would be better if David learned under his friend Joseph-Marie Vien, who had a more Classical approach to painting. The French artist got married in 1733 to Marie-Jeanne Buzeau, and they had three kids. The next year, he began working at the Academy as a professor, but soon rose to the role of Rector. His responsibilities included inspecting the Royal Gobelins Manufactory, a Parisian tapestry factory, as well as becoming the official painter for the King in 1765. Unfortunately, he passed away only five years later, in May 1770 in Paris. He became the leading names of the Rococo movement and is known to embody and personify the taste of the Royalty.

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Reproduction Oil Painting - Fran%C3%A7ois Boucher - The Interrupted Sleep 1750.

The Interrupted Sleep 1750

François Boucher

François Boucher

François Boucher: Questions & Answers