Francois Boucher (1703-1770).

Francois Boucher was born in 1703 and had a brilliant career. He was trained as an illustrator and engraver and around 1720 he became a pupil of Francois Lemoyne who taught him about decorative style.

He lived in Rome from 1727 to 1731, where he perfected his artistic education and was admitted to the Academy as a historical painter in 1734. In 1735/1736 he extended his repertory to all the different genres, working in the royal manufactories and designing stage sets for plays and operas. He also received some important commissions from Louis XV and his mistress Madame de Pompadour and as her favourite painter he obtained accommodations at the Louvre in 1752.

Boucher was appreciated for his logical and elegant composition and his bright, dazzling colours, and was highly prized for his depiction of gallant mythological scenes in which he glorified the female body. He also invented the pastoral genre, found only in literature, successfully blending delicate sentiment with rural simplicity. He was a prolific artist and produced over 1,000 drawings. Despite his appointment as Artist in Chief to Louis XV in 1765, his reputation declined after 1760, amidst indifference from the critics. He died in 1770 and was not rediscovered until a hundred years later.