Portrait of Francois Boucher

Francois Boucher Painting Reproductions 1 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

The Toilet of Venus, 1751 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

The Toilet of Venus 1751

Oil Painting
$2768
Canvas Print
$59.92
SKU: BFR-4043
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 108.3 x 85.1 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA

Venus Consoling Love, 1751 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

Venus Consoling Love 1751

Oil Painting
$2071
Canvas Print
$59.50
SKU: BFR-4044
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 107 x 84.8 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington, USA

The Love Letter, 1750 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

The Love Letter 1750

Oil Painting
$2219
Canvas Print
$69.06
SKU: BFR-4045
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 81.2 x 75.2 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington, USA

Allegory of Music, 1764 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

Allegory of Music 1764

Oil Painting
$2049
Canvas Print
$60.20
SKU: BFR-4046
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 103.5 x 130 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington, USA

Allegory of Painting, 1765 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

Allegory of Painting 1765

Oil Painting
$2049
Canvas Print
$59.09
SKU: BFR-4047
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 101.5 x 130 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington, USA

Reclining Girl, 1752 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

Reclining Girl 1752

Oil Painting
$1052
Canvas Print
$61.58
SKU: BFR-4048
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 59 x 73 cm
Alte Pinakothek, Munich, Germany

Landscape Near Beauvais, c.1740 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

Landscape Near Beauvais c.1740

Oil Painting
$1218
Canvas Print
$61.30
SKU: BFR-4049
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 58 x 49 cm
The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia

Crossing the Bridge, c.1730 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

Crossing the Bridge c.1730

Oil Painting
$1282
SKU: BFR-4050
Francois Boucher
Original Size: unknown
The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia

Landscape with a Pond, 1746 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

Landscape with a Pond 1746

Oil Painting
$1179
SKU: BFR-4051
Francois Boucher
Original Size: unknown
The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia

Cupids Allegory of Painting, c.1760 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

Cupids Allegory of Painting c.1760

Oil Painting
$1385
SKU: BFR-4052
Francois Boucher
Original Size: unknown
The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia

Pastoral Scene, c.1730 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

Pastoral Scene c.1730

Oil Painting
$2025
SKU: BFR-4053
Francois Boucher
Original Size: unknown
The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia

Head of a Young Girl, c.1745 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

Head of a Young Girl c.1745

Oil Painting
$920
SKU: BFR-4054
Francois Boucher
Original Size: unknown
The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia

Crossing the Ford, c.1730 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

Crossing the Ford c.1730

Oil Painting
$1308
SKU: BFR-4055
Francois Boucher
Original Size: unknown
The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia

Saint John the Baptist, c.1755 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

Saint John the Baptist c.1755

Oil Painting
$1749
Canvas Print
$53.56
SKU: BFR-4056
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 163.8 x 115.5 cm
Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minnesota, USA

The Cherub Harvesters, c.1730/35 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

The Cherub Harvesters c.1730/35

Oil Painting
$1603
Canvas Print
$59.23
SKU: BFR-4057
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 122 x 96.2 cm
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA

Jupiter and Callisto, 1744 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

Jupiter and Callisto 1744

Oil Painting
$2910
Canvas Print
$56.59
SKU: BFR-4058
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 98 x 72 cm
Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, Russia

Shepherd Boy Playing Bagpipes, c.1754 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

Shepherd Boy Playing Bagpipes c.1754

Oil Painting
$1322
SKU: BFR-4059
Francois Boucher
Original Size: unknown
Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Massachusetts, USA

Young Woman with Flowers in Her Hair, n.d. by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

Young Woman with Flowers in Her Hair n.d.

Oil Painting
$1179
SKU: BFR-4060
Francois Boucher
Original Size: unknown
Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Massachusetts, USA

A Pastoral Scene, 1762 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

A Pastoral Scene 1762

Oil Painting
$1895
Canvas Print
$50.22
SKU: BFR-4061
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 231.5 x 91 cm
National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

The Rape of Europa, c.1732/34 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

The Rape of Europa c.1732/34

Oil Painting
$4855
Canvas Print
$64.07
SKU: BFR-4062
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 230.8 x 273.5 cm
The Wallace Collection, London, United Kingdom

An Autumn Pastoral, 1749 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

An Autumn Pastoral 1749

Oil Painting
$2514
Canvas Print
$58.12
SKU: BFR-4063
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 259.5 x 198.6 cm
The Wallace Collection, London, United Kingdom

A Summer Pastoral, 1749 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

A Summer Pastoral 1749

Oil Painting
$2748
Canvas Print
$57.71
SKU: BFR-4064
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 259 x 197 cm
The Wallace Collection, London, United Kingdom

Shepherd and Shepherdess Reposing (The School of Love), 1761 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

Shepherd and Shepherdess Reposing (The School of Love) 1761

Oil Painting
$2284
Canvas Print
$63.52
SKU: BFR-4065
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 76.6 x 63.6 cm
The Wallace Collection, London, United Kingdom

Madame de Pompadour, 1759 by Boucher | Painting Reproduction

Madame de Pompadour 1759

Oil Painting
$4519
Canvas Print
$56.74
SKU: BFR-4066
Francois Boucher
Original Size: 91 x 68 cm
The Wallace Collection, London, United Kingdom

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