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Life and Art of Louis-Léopold Boilly: The Painter of Troubled Times

July 5th 2023, ON THIS DAY

Louis-Léopold Boilly (1761-1845) was a French painter and draftsman who was a prolific painter of the French Golden Era was born today . His works offer a vivid glimpse into the vibrant social life of the French middle class, spanning tumultuous periods like monarchical France, the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Empire, the Bourbon Restoration, and the July Monarchy. Notably, his 1800 masterpiece, “Un Trompe-l’œil,” coined the term for the technique of creating realistic imagery that deceives the viewer into perceiving three-dimensional objects. While the technique had roots in ancient Greek and Roman art, Boilly’s ingenious use of it earned it the name “trompe-l’œil.” His artistic journey mirrored the transformative epochs he lived through, and his paintings serve as a window into the society and times he experienced. With a skillful hand, Boilly captured the essence of his subjects and transported viewers into the captivating world of French history, where realism and illusion danced harmoniously on the canvas. In this essay we chart the artistic style and manner of this painter and look through some of his notable artworks. 

Tranquility of Nature 1 by Suvvro P Basu
In a room filled with easels, white plaster heads and statuettes, a box of paints, books, and papers, a young woman stands looking at a sketch and a young girl looks on, seated in an armchair, in this vertical painting. The scene is lit from the upper left, presumably from a window out of our view. Both women have smooth, pale skin, and their hair is swept up with curls framing their faces. They face our right in profile so their faces are in gentle shadow. They have straight noses, and their rose-pink lips are closed. They wear gowns with short sleeves, low, scooped necks, and floor-length skirts cinched under the bust. In the center of the painting, the young woman has chestnut-brown hair and wears a white gown tied with a sky-blue ribbon. She stands in front of a portfolio propped up against a tall easel. The portfolio is made of two stiff boards that tie together with pale blue ribbon to secure large sheets of paper. She rests her right hand, closer to us, on the front board of the portfolio and looks down at the sketch on a gray piece of paper she holds with her other hand. Next to her and closer to us, the younger girl sits in a gold chair upholstered with olive-green velvet. She faces our right almost in profile, and she looks up toward the drawing the other woman holds. The girl in the chair has blond hair and a gold-colored dress. Her feet are propped on a gold footstool, and she holds another portfolio on her lap. She supports the portfolio and holds a piece of paper with one hand, and a stylus or brush in the other hand, up by her chin. To the right of the easel, a wooden table holds a collection of plaster casts of faces, a hand, and small-scale bodies along with a glass vessel and a few other tools. Two translucent green bottles, boxes, a book, and a terracotta vase are collected on the footstool and the floor around the base of the easel. Garnet-red cloths are draped down the front of the table to our right and behind the girl on the chair. Next to her chair, in the lower left corner of the composition, is a wooden box with a paint palette and a handful of thin paintbrushes. A scroll of paper lies next to the box. A shelf at the standing girl’s shoulder height and behind the pair, to our left, is piled with white busts of a man, child, and woman, more figurines, and a brush in a small cup, all arranged across a moss-green cloth. The space with the girls and artist’s tools is enclosed by a large, dark brown form, presumably a canvas in shadow, that leans against the tall easels and mostly cuts off a view into the rest of the room. A glimpse of shadowy capitals is seen over the board, across the top of the painting, to suggest that a row of columns recedes into the space beyond. The artist signed the work as if he had painted his name on the floor next to the scroll, “L. Boilly.”
A painter’s Studio, Louis-Léopold Boilly (1800). Courtesy:nga.gov

 

Que n’y est-il encore?by Louis-Léopold Boilly. Courtesy: nga.gov

Louis-Léopold Boilly was a painter who skillfully depicted family portraits, capturing the intimate moments of domestic life. However, with the decline of private patronage during the French Revolution, Boilly sought to reach a wider audience by creating boudoir scenes with a hint of licentiousness, designed to be reproduced in large quantities by printmakers. As the years passed and luxury, corruption, and elegance resurged, Boilly found new patrons who appreciated his keen social observations. His temperament, marked by amusement and lack of judgement, allowed him to vividly capture scenes infused with mild bawdiness and caricature. From everyday urban episodes like ‘Queueing for Milk’ to depictions of street crowds reacting to national events, Boilly’s paintings reflected the pulse of the city and its inhabitants. With his brush, Boilly painted a world where domesticity intertwined with social commentary, offering glimpses into the lives of the French middle class. His works revealed the complexities of human behaviour, laced with humour and a touch of playfulness. Through his art, Boilly ensured that the stories of ordinary people were preserved and celebrated, inviting viewers to step into his vividly pictorial world and engage with the nuances of society.

Boilly réunion d'artiste chez Isabey 1798.jpg
Boilly réunion d’artiste chez Isabey 1798. Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

His mastery of portrait painting strongly influenced his approach to genre subjects. His notable works like ‘Meeting of Artists in Isabey’s Studio’ presently at the Louvre, 1798 and ‘Studio of a Sculptor’ in the collection of Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, 1804 showcased his ability to arrange actual portraits into imaginative genre scenes. On the other hand, his crowded urban genre paintings were infused with a sense of animated group portraiture. However, it is important to note that the figures such as children, fashionable young women, bourgeois individuals, and stern street thugs were repetitive figures that were seen in his group genre paintings.  In the ‘Entrance to the Jardin Turc’ painted in 1812, in the collection of The J Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, USA, Boilly’s precise painting transports us to Napoleonic Paris, outside the popular Jardin Turc café.

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Entrance to the Jardin Turc, 1812. Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

It is an active scene brimming with life as people from different walks of life gather for leisure. Two young street performers captivate the crowd with a tame marmot and a puppet show, entertaining both adults and children. In the painting’s corner, Boilly includes a self-portrait, wearing spectacles and a top hat. With meticulous detail, the artwork immerses us in the happening atmosphere of the shady boulevard. It captures the essence of a bustling Parisian day, inviting us to witness the charm and energy of the era firsthand.

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The Geography Lesson (Portrait of Monsieur Gaudry and His Daughter), 1812. Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

Boilly frequently drew upon this repertoire of characters, giving his scenes a familiar yet captivating quality. By skillfully combining elements of portraiture and genre painting, Boilly created unique compositions that reflected the essence of his subjects and transported viewers into dynamic and engaging narratives.

File:The Art Connoisseurs MET DP808266.jpg
The Art Connoisseurs, print, Louis Léopold Boilly Courtesy: The MET, 1989.1062.

His final Salon exhibition took place in 1824. In his later years, he forayed into creating a series of lithographs called “Grimaces,” portraying humorous facial expressions. In 1828, he sold his collection of Dutch, Flemish, and French artworks, including thirty-seven of his own paintings. Recognising his talent, the monarchy bestowed upon him the cross of the Legion of Honor. In his lifetime he painted around 5000 portraits which are housed in prestigious collections of the Louvre, National Gallery of Art, Kimbell Art Museum, The MET, and more. Boilly passed away in Paris in the year 1845 at the age of eighty-four leaving behind a great legacy of his oil paintings and caricatures. 

 

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