Portrait of Francois Boucher

Francois Boucher Painting Reproductions 5 of 8

1703-1770

French Rococo Painter

François Boucher (September 29, 1703 – May 30, 1770) was a French painter, a proponent of Rococo taste, known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories representing the arts or pastoral occupations, and several portraits of Madame de Pompadour.
Biography
Born in Paris, the son of decorator Nicolas Boucher, François Boucher was perhaps the most celebrated decorative artist of the 18th century, with most of his work reflecting the Rococo style. At the young age of 17, Boucher was apprenticed by his father to François Lemoyne, however after only 3 months he went to work for the engraver Jean-François Cars. Within 3 years Boucher had already won the elite Grand Prix de Rome, although he did not take up the consequential opportunity to study in Italy until 4 years later. On his return from studying in Italy in 1731, he was admitted to the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture as a historical painter, and became a faculty member in 1734.
His career moved upwards and onwards from this point, as he advanced from professor to Rector of the Academy, becoming head of the Royal Gobelin factory in 1755 and finally Premier Peintre du Roi (First Painter of the King) in 1765.
With much of his work reflecting inspiration gained from artists Watteau and Rubens, Boucher's early work celebrates the idyllic and tranquil, portraying nature and landscape with great élan. However, his work typically forgoes traditional rural innocence to portray scenes with a definitive style of eroticism, and his mythological scenes are passionate and amorous rather than traditionally epic.
Marquise de Pompadour (mistress of King Louis XV), whose name became synonymous with Rococo art, was a great fan of Boucher's, and it is particularly in his portraits of her that this style is clearly exemplified. Paintings such as The Breakfast of 1739, a family scene, also show Boucher as a master of the genre scene as he regularly used his own wife and family as models. These intimate family scenes are however in contrast to the licentious style in which he also painted, as seen in his Odalisque portraits. The dark-haired version of the Odalisque portraits prompted claims by Diderot that Boucher was "prostituting his own wife", and the Blonde Odalisque was a portrait that illustrated the extra-marital relationships of the King. Boucher gained lasting notoriety through such private commissions for wealthy collectors and, after the ever-moral Diderot expressed his disapproval, his reputation came under increasing critical attack during the last of his creative years.
Along with his painting, Boucher also designed theatre costumes and sets, and the ardent intrigues of the comic operas Favart (1710-1792) closely parallel his own style of painting. Tapestry design was also an interest and major activity of his, together with his design activities for the opera and the royal palaces of Versailles, Fontainebleau and Choisy. His design activities for all of the aforementioned augmented his earlier reputation, resulting in many engravings from his work and even reproduction of his themes onto porcelain and biscuit-ware at the Vincennes and Sèvres factories.
Francois Boucher died on May 30, 1770 in Paris, France. His name had become synonymous with the French Rococo style, along with that of his patron, Madame de Pompadour, leading the Goncourt brothers to write: "Boucher is one of those men who represent the taste of a century, who express, personify and embody it."

177 Boucher Paintings

Aurora and Cephalus, 1769 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

Aurora and Cephalus 1769

Oil Painting
$2087
Canvas Print
$50.22
SKU: BFR-13205
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 265 x 86 cm
J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, USA

Venus on the Waves, 1769 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

Venus on the Waves 1769

Oil Painting
$2214
Canvas Print
$50.22
SKU: BFR-13206
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 265 x 86 cm
J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, USA

The Fountain of Love, 1748 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

The Fountain of Love 1748

Oil Painting
$2931
Canvas Print
$67.80
SKU: BFR-13207
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 294.6 x 337.8 cm
J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, USA

The Bird Catchers, 1748 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

The Bird Catchers 1748

Oil Painting
$7912
Canvas Print
$67.80
SKU: BFR-13208
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 294.6 x 337.8 cm
J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, USA

The Dovecote, 1758 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

The Dovecote 1758

Oil Painting
$1424
Canvas Print
$50.38
SKU: BFR-13209
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 47.3 x 71.1 cm
Saint Louis Art Museum, Missouri, USA

Pastoral Repast, 1769 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

Pastoral Repast 1769

Oil Painting
$1397
Canvas Print
$64.07
SKU: BFR-13210
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 65 x 55 cm
The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, USA

Landscape with Fisherman and a Young Woman, 1769 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

Landscape with Fisherman and a Young Woman 1769

Oil Painting
$1364
Canvas Print
$64.07
SKU: BFR-13211
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 65 x 55 cm
The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, USA

Pastoral, c.1730 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

Pastoral c.1730

Oil Painting
$1445
Canvas Print
$63.10
SKU: BFR-13212
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 63.5 x 71 cm
The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, USA

Aurora and Cephalus, n.d. by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

Aurora and Cephalus n.d.

Oil Painting
$1823
Canvas Print
$51.48
SKU: BFR-13213
Francois Boucher
Original Size: unknown
Musee des Beaux Arts, Nancy, France

The Light of the World (Nativity), 1750 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

The Light of the World (Nativity) 1750

Oil Painting
$2540
Canvas Print
$56.05
SKU: BFR-13214
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 175 x 130 cm
Musee des Beaux Arts, Lyon, France

La Marotte (La Musette), 1759 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

La Marotte (La Musette) 1759

Oil Painting
$1829
Canvas Print
$56.18
SKU: BFR-13215
Francois Boucher
Original Size: unknown
Museum of Palace of Versailles, Paris, France

Love's Sleep, n.d. by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

Love's Sleep n.d.

Oil Painting
$1466
Canvas Print
$70.58
SKU: BFR-13216
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 92.5 x 86.5 cm
Louvre Museum, Paris, France

Marriage of Cupid and Psyche, 1744 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

Marriage of Cupid and Psyche 1744

Oil Painting
$4673
Canvas Print
$54.66
SKU: BFR-13217
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 93 x 130 cm
Louvre Museum, Paris, France

Sleeping Shepherd, n.d. by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

Sleeping Shepherd n.d.

Oil Painting
$1038
Canvas Print
$50.22
SKU: BFR-13218
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 20 x 26 cm
Musee des Beaux-Arts, Chartres, France

Sylvia Heals Phillis' Bee-Sting, 1755 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

Sylvia Heals Phillis' Bee-Sting 1755

Oil Painting
$2317
Canvas Print
$57.01
SKU: BFR-13219
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 102 x 136 cm
Public Collection

Venus Disarming Cupid, 1749 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

Venus Disarming Cupid 1749

Oil Painting
$2350
Canvas Print
$50.22
SKU: BFR-13220
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 107 x 173 cm
Louvre Museum, Paris, France

Geniuses of the Arts, 1761 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

Geniuses of the Arts 1761

Oil Painting
$5600
Canvas Print
$76.11
SKU: BFR-13221
Francois Boucher
Original Size: unknown
Musee des Beaux-Arts, Angers, France

Diana's Return from the Hunt, 1745 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

Diana's Return from the Hunt 1745

Oil Painting
$2130
Canvas Print
$54.53
SKU: BFR-13222
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 94 x 131 cm
Musee Cognacq-Jay, Paris, France

Saint Peter Attempts to Walk on Water, 1766 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

Saint Peter Attempts to Walk on Water 1766

Oil Painting
$2193
Canvas Print
$53.27
SKU: BFR-13223
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 235 x 170 cm
Public Collection

Sylvia Rescued by Aminta, 1755 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

Sylvia Rescued by Aminta 1755

Oil Painting
$2269
Canvas Print
$57.15
SKU: BFR-13224
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 102 x 136 cm
Public Collection

Washers, n.d. by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

Washers n.d.

Oil Painting
$1637
Canvas Print
$59.23
SKU: BFR-13225
Francois Boucher
Original Size: unknown
Public Collection

Landscape with a Watermill, 1755 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

Landscape with a Watermill 1755

Oil Painting
$1582
Canvas Print
$61.30
SKU: BFR-13226
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 57.2 x 73 cm
National Gallery, London, United Kingdom

Beautiful Country Woman, c.1732 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

Beautiful Country Woman c.1732

Oil Painting
$1376
Canvas Print
$50.22
SKU: BFR-13227
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 41 x 30.5 cm
Norton Simon Museum of Art, Pasadena, USA

The Little Pilgrim, c.1755/60 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

The Little Pilgrim c.1755/60

Oil Painting
$1442
Canvas Print
$50.22
SKU: BFR-13228
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 81.3 x 76.2 cm
Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indiana, USA

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