Louis-Léopold Boilly

Louis-Léopold Boilly
(1761–1845)

Portraits of the Artist's Family and Servants

Black and white chalk, on light brown wove paper
17 13/16 x 11 11/16 inches (450 x 297 mm)

Thaw Collection

Item description: 

Judging from the costumes, it would appear that this drawing dates to around 1800. It is apparent from what we know about Boilly's family that his second wife, née Adélaïde-Françoise-Julie Leduc, and two of his sons are depicted: her likeness is in the center of the sheet, the sons in the upper right and bottom center. The man to the right of Boilly's wife is his friend the singer Simon Chenard, who also acted as tutor for the children of Boilly's first marriage. Of the four remaining portrait heads, three are most probably servants, while the woman at the lower left corner remains unidentified.