Francois Boucher from early childhood had the talent of a skilled draftsman. His father, who taught painting, became the first teacher of the little genius. Deciding not to limit the development of his son, Bush Sr. paid for private lessons with famous painters for the teenager. Already by the age of 16, Francois Boucher attracted the attention of admirers of fine art and even received the first order to create illustrations for French Stories.
Francois Boucher earned the fame of the great French artist during his lifetime.
He was loved and hated, he was worshiped and criticized. But what difference does it make what others say if you paint for Louis XV himself and decorate interiors in Versailles? He was bold, relaxed and talented, so he allowed himself to create light and frivolous plots, literally copying them from the courtiers. The most desired customer of Boucher was the favorite of the king – the Marquise de Pompadour, whose portraits he painted until her death.
François Boucher painted portraits and pastoral landscapes, created scenery for theatrical performances and decorated the estates of the nobles. But the painter got real pleasure by talking about the erotic adventures of mythological heroes and the love adventures of his contemporaries.
The paintings were sensual, cheerful, light and graceful.
Exactly the way the noble society of that era was – superficial, reckless and frivolous. The bright and cheerful palette that prevailed in the youthful work of Bush was gradually replaced by pink and blue pastels.
And the formidable ancient Greek gods, indulging in love joys and caresses on canvases, turned out to be calm and serene. Francois somehow conveyed ancient myths in his own way. Here Jupiter, who fell in love with the nymph Callisto, decided to appear to her in the form of Diana, the goddess of the hunt. Two charming, rosy-cheeked, bare-shouldered girls openly flirt, and this reveals the subtlest flavor of daring and defiant eroticism.
The Fair-Haired Odalisque also deserves attention.
The spicy and exciting portrait of Mademoiselle O’Murphy is painted with incredible accuracy and charming eroticism. It was precisely because of the ability to plausibly recreate the roundness and asymmetric lines of the female body in the paintings, so that the viewer had a feeling of direct participation in the plot, Francois Boucher was punished after the death of the marquise. The artist was accused of licentiousness and debauchery, and the paintings were called dirty fantasies that arose in the head of a frivolous painter. Thus came the end of success. Fortunately, in a short period of popularity, Bush managed to make a significant fortune by creating such amazing portraits.
