Louis-Maurice Boutet de Monvel

Maurice Boutet de Monvel, Galerie Manzi-Joyant, Paris, 25 avril - 9 mai 1913, n°17

Stéphane-Jacques Addade, Bernard Boutet de Monvel, Paris, 2001, reproduit p.33;
Stéphane-Jacques Addade, Bernard Boutet de Monvel, Paris, 2016, reproduit p. 46-47

The canvas was relined. Small repaints alongside the borders are visible ; the painting suffered a little bit from the relining. Under UV light, a certain number of repaints are visible on the borders and in the sky, small repaints are visible in the frass and some repaints are scattered in the landscape, with small cracks that have been filled. Numerous thin cracks that have been filled are visible on the costume, the hands and the hat of Roger with light retouches around his eyes ; as for Bernard, numerous thin cracks that have been filled are visible on the costume, around his eyes, on his chin and his cheeks. A long thin diagonal scratch is visible on Bernard's suit. The matter is thin in some areas. The "C" of "Château" and the "M" of "Maurice" have partially disappeared under a repaint.
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Le tableau représente les deux fils de l'artiste, Roger, quatre ans et Bernard, deux ans. Maurice Boutet de Monvel réalisa cette toile en 1883, alors que la famille était en villégiature au château de Vineuil à Bourré (Loir-et-Cher), propriété du photographe Louis Rousselet, cousin de Madame Boutet de Monvel.

Les grands-parents de Bernard et Roger cessèrent de se rendre à Bourré lorsqu'ils louèrent à partir de 1886 une maison à Nemours, avant d'y acheter les Peupliers, grande maison donnant sur le canal du Loing, où la famille Boutet de Monvel allait désormais passer les vacances.

La composition très frontale, montrant les enfants sur fond de paysage de Touraine, évoque fortement le travail d’illustrateur de Maurice Boutet de Monvel. Les petits garçons à la mine boudeuse, contraints de poser en costume marin devant leur père et certainement impatients d’aller jouer, reflètent merveilleusement la magie de l’univers enfantin créé par le peintre.

This composition, painted in 1883, shows the artist's two sons, Bernard, aged two and Roger, aged four. It was executed during holidays in Bourré (Touraine), at the Vineuil castle belonging to Madame Boutet de Monvel's cousin, the photograph Louis Rousselet. The composition's frontality is certainly inspired by Maurice Boutet de Monvel's work as illustrator. The boys's sulky look, as they are probably impatient to go back and play, is characteristic of the artist's magical world for children.