Artist · 20 prints
François Boucher Prints
About François Boucher
François Boucher (1703–1770) was a French painter, born in Paris on 29 September 1703. He was probably taught first by his father and then briefly by François Le Moyne. He won the Academy's top prize for young painters and studied in Italy from 1728 to 1731. From 1750 his chief patron was Madame de Pompadour, the mistress of Louis XV. In 1765 he became First Painter to the King and Director of the Academy, and he died in Paris on 30 May 1770.
Boucher is the painter most associated with the Rococo, the light, decorative style of eighteenth-century France. He is best known for playful pastoral scenes and mythologies in soft pinks and blues, such as Diana Leaving Her Bath (1742) in the Louvre and Pan and Syrinx in the National Gallery, London. He also designed for the theatre, books and porcelain. He produced tapestry designs for the Beauvais works, including the Italian Festivals series from 1736, and was later inspector at the Gobelins tapestry works until 1765.
François Boucher prints: reproductions of paintings by the French Rococo painter François Boucher, made between 1732 and 1766. The collection includes The Toilette of Venus (1751), Madame de Pompadour (1759), The Love Letter (1750), The Rising of the Sun (1753) and The Milliner (1746).
This selection mixes his mythologies of Venus, Diana, Europa and Apollo with pastoral scenes of young lovers, bird catchers and dovecotes, and portraits including Madame de Pompadour and Madame Bergeret. It also includes allegories of painting and music and The Chinese Garden. Soft pinks, sky blues, creams and pale gold appear throughout.
The light, pastel palettes suit bedrooms, dressing rooms and living rooms; the large mythological scenes work above a bed or sofa. All prints are museum-quality reproductions, available unframed or framed with acrylic glazing, with free shipping and import duties covered.
