Louis-Maurice Boutet de Monvel

LOUIS-MAURICE BOUTET DE MONVEL (Orléans, France, 1850 - Paris, 1913).
"Young Diana", Paris, ca. 1893.
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower left corner.
Measurements: 220 x 146 cm; 230 x 153 cm (frame).

In this work of Louis-Maurice Boutet de Monvel represents a young Diana of ethereal face and figure that advances by a wooded place with an almost suspended lightness, as if it levitated between the vegetation. She holds the bow delicately while two hounds follow her faithfully, reinforcing the mythological character of the scene. The meticulous execution, worked in detail and with a precious finish, clearly reveals his early technical skill and reveals the imprint of his training as an illustrator, showing that he already possessed an extraordinary solvency as a painter in his early days.

Louis-Maurice Boutet de Monvel was a French painter and illustrator noted for his delicate watercolors and his elegant and refined style, especially recognized for his illustrations of children's books at the end of the 19th century; Trained at the École des Beaux-Arts and the Académie Julian in Paris, he combined a clear line and balanced compositions with a certain influence of japonisme, and achieved great prestige with works such as Jeanne d'Arc (1895/1896), considered one of the peaks of illustrated illustration of his time, establishing himself as a key figure in the history of French children's illustration.