Boucher, François

(1703-1770)

   painter, designer, decorator, engraver

   Known for his pastoral and mythological scenes embodying the sensuousness and frivolity of the rococo, François Boucher was born in Paris, the son of a lace designer. There, he studied with various artists but was most influenced by the delicate style of antoine watteau. In 1725, Boucher won the prix de Rome, then studied in Italy from 1727 to 1731, where he was especially inspired by the works of Correggio and Tiepolo. Through his many decorative works (the Queen's Chamber, Versailles, 1734; the first floor of the hôtel de Rohan-soubire, Paris), his drawings and designs for the Gobelins works (Fêtes chinoises, 1734), his cast models for sèvres and his mythological scenes (Le Triomphe de Venus, 1740), his pastorals, and his libertine scenes and nudes (Odalisque, 1745), Boucher became the master of rococo and of sensuous painting, by which he created an amorous and gracious world. In 1755, he became director of the Gobelins tapestry works and, in 1765, was made first painter to King louis XV and became director of the Royal Academy. The protégé of mme de pompadour, he painted her portrait many times. Boucher's delicate, lighthearted depiction of classical deities and French shepherdesses delighted the public, and he became the most fashionable painter of his day. His sentimental and facile style, however, became too widely imitated, and would be less preferred during the rise of neoclassicism.