Louis-Léopold Boilly is one of those painters who already enjoyed fame and economic success during his lifetime. This does not mean that the artist did not have to overcome crises. In 1794, at the height of the French Revolution, he almost lost his head. But his great talent not only got him into the predicament, but also saved him from it again.
The life of little Louis Leopold began quite unspectacularly. He was the son of a wood sculptor from La Bassée, a small town in the north-east of France. Nothing is known about his mother. Already as a child, Boilly showed both great interest and great talent for painting. He sold his first paintings at the age of just twelve. At 14 he presented his works to the Augustinian Order in the nearby provincial capital Douai. This is how the Bishop of Arras finally became aware of the young Boilly and called him to his court.
This marked the beginning of the artist's career, which he soon continued in Paris. The mediator was the painter Dominique Doncre, who taught him illusionist painting (trompe loeil). Before the revolution broke out, Boilly and his teacher were welcome guests in the Parisian salons. But for the prudish Jacobins his style was too erotic. The only way he escaped a punishment that would probably have cost him his head was by making a clever move: he painted a magnificent portrait of the highly respected revolutionary leader Jean Paul Marat. He was then considered rehabilitated.
Boillys had a predilection for genre paintings, often amorous ones. His work is therefore not only of artistic significance, but also documents the history of mores of the French middle class from the monarchy and the Napoleonic era to the Restoration under the Bourbons. This, too, makes his work unique, since hardly any artist of his time reached a comparably high age and remained productive until his death. Boilly died at the age of 84 in Paris and was then considered one of the most popular French painters of his time. The artist was a member of the Legion of Honor and was honored with numerous awards. Today, his most famous works, apart from the "Triumph of Marat", the painting that saved his life, include the "Entrance to the Jardin Turc" and the portrait of an unknown beauty on a bidet, which became known as "La Toilette intime".
Louis-Léopold Boilly is one of those painters who already enjoyed fame and economic success during his lifetime. This does not mean that the artist did not have to overcome crises. In 1794, at the height of the French Revolution, he almost lost his head. But his great talent not only got him into the predicament, but also saved him from it again.
The life of little Louis Leopold began quite unspectacularly. He was the son of a wood sculptor from La Bassée, a small town in the north-east of France. Nothing is known about his mother. Already as a child, Boilly showed both great interest and great talent for painting. He sold his first paintings at the age of just twelve. At 14 he presented his works to the Augustinian Order in the nearby provincial capital Douai. This is how the Bishop of Arras finally became aware of the young Boilly and called him to his court.
This marked the beginning of the artist's career, which he soon continued in Paris. The mediator was the painter Dominique Doncre, who taught him illusionist painting (trompe loeil). Before the revolution broke out, Boilly and his teacher were welcome guests in the Parisian salons. But for the prudish Jacobins his style was too erotic. The only way he escaped a punishment that would probably have cost him his head was by making a clever move: he painted a magnificent portrait of the highly respected revolutionary leader Jean Paul Marat. He was then considered rehabilitated.
Boillys had a predilection for genre paintings, often amorous ones. His work is therefore not only of artistic significance, but also documents the history of mores of the French middle class from the monarchy and the Napoleonic era to the Restoration under the Bourbons. This, too, makes his work unique, since hardly any artist of his time reached a comparably high age and remained productive until his death. Boilly died at the age of 84 in Paris and was then considered one of the most popular French painters of his time. The artist was a member of the Legion of Honor and was honored with numerous awards. Today, his most famous works, apart from the "Triumph of Marat", the painting that saved his life, include the "Entrance to the Jardin Turc" and the portrait of an unknown beauty on a bidet, which became known as "La Toilette intime".
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