Francois Boucher Art

François Boucher (1703 – 1770) was a painter born in Paris. He also designed theatre sets and costumes. He was the son of Nicolas Boucher who was a lace designer. At the age of only 17, he was apprenticed to François Lemoyne by his father but he left after only 3 months and went to work for Jean-François Cars, an engraver. Boucher was a quick learner and within just 3 years he had already won the elite Grand Prix de Rome. However, he did not take up the consequential opportunity to study in Italy because of financial problems. Five years later, he managed to go to Italy and 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. From this point, his career accelerated. He quickly advanced from professor to Rector of the Academy, and in 1755 he became the head of the Royal Gobelin factory and in 1765 he finally became the Premier Peintre du Roi. Boucher continued to follow his artistic tendencies producing an array of delightful high quality and fine originals. That’s what triggered his originality. Not only did he have exceptional painting skills, his printmaking expertise saw service on a variety of finishing options which included framed François Boucher art. Boucher's early work celebrated the tranquil and idyllic, and portrayed landscape and nature with great élan. Boucher was a master of the genre scene. He regularly used his own family and wife as models. However, these intimate family scenes are in contrast to the 'licentious' style that was seen in some of his paintings.