The Four Seasons: Winter, by François Boucher
2012; American Medical Association; Volume: 14; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1001/archfaci.14.1.76
ISSN1538-3660
Autores Tópico(s)Medicine and Dermatology Studies History
ResumoArchives of Facial Plastic SurgeryVol. 14, No. 1 Free AccessThe Four Seasons: Winter, by François BoucherEmily B. CollinsEmily B. CollinsCorrespondence: Ms Collins, 12 E 88th St, New York, NY 10128 (E-mail Address: emilybcollins@gmail.com).Search for more papers by this authorPublished Online:2 Jan 2012https://doi.org/10.1001/archfaci.14.1.76AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB Permissions & CitationsPermissionsDownload CitationsTrack CitationsAdd to favorites Back To Publication ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail Decadent, frivolous, light, elitist. These words are often used to describe François Boucher and his art. This is largely because of the culture that arose in France immediately following his heyday, namely the French Revolution and the belief that the aristocracy had robbed the common man in order to feed its taste for luxury. Prior to the French Revolution, rococo was the style favored by the French Court (first by Louis XV and then during the first portion of the reign of Louis XVI). Rococo is a style based on the French word rocaille, meaning stone, and referring to the shell and stone grottos that were popular during the Renaissance. Rococo sought to celebrate nature and all the joys of the Enlightenment. The focus on natural forms gave way to a more decorative interpretation that culminated with an abundance of asymmetrical C-scroll designs and fantastical pastoral landscapes. Boucher was an artist who is not only associated with the Rococo style of art but in many ways was responsible for its popularity and profusion during the 17th century in France. During this time, France was seen as the cultural capital of the western world. The best of art, fashion, and philosophy came from within its borders. To speak French was to be sophisticated and fully educated. It was also a time of great financial upheaval. France had switched to a paper currency, and through much of this time they were at peace with Great Britain, for a change. Many were making and losing fortunes by speculating on the burgeoning colonial markets. The rich were growing wealthier while the middle class was often left out.Boucher was born into the arts in a middle class or bourgeoisie family. His father was a painter, and possibly his grandfather was as well, although they were not as successful as Boucher would become. Boucher was likely apprenticed to a couple of different painters and began to work his way up through the system. Although he did win the top honor in French painting at the time, the Prix de Rome, another painter with better political connections was chosen to take his place, and Boucher was not allowed to take the year-long trip to Rome, Italy, that should have been his as the winner. In 1733 Boucher married Marie-Jeanne Buzeau, who came from a higher level of society than Boucher. She was also known as one of the most beautiful women in Paris. Even much later, when she was 40 years old, Boucher's students who glimpsed her in her morning negligee (not quite the daring piece of clothing we picture today, more of a robe worn during the toilette in order to keep one's clothes clean) remarked on how lovely she was.ref-qbe110002-1(p46) There were later rumors that Boucher led a sort of playboy lifestyle. Much of this is related to an excuse given by someone on his behalf that he was late finishing a work because he was a libertinage —a man who enjoyed the pleasures life had to offer, including music, the arts, good food, good wine, and good company—the acceptable and socially correct behavior for the upwardly mobile Boucher. His friends also considered him to be generous, kind, and straightforward. The negative interpretation of Boucher's character by some probably relates to the later usage of the terms libertinage and libertine, which indicate sexual excess. By all accounts, Boucher had an enviable marriage and lived a life well within reason.ref-qbe110002-1(p14)François Boucher (1703-1770). The Four Seasons: Winter, 1755. Oil on canvas. 22⅜ × 28¾ in. The Frick Collection, New York, New York. Henry Clay Frick bequest. Accession No. 1916.1.15.As Boucher climbed through the ranks of French society, he received commissions of greater importance. His first royal commission came from the queen, Marie Leszczynska. The queen's bedchamber at Versailles was in need of new decorations, and Boucher was the artist hired for the task.ref-qbe110002-1(p48)Boucher's most important patron would not be the queen but rather the royal mistress, Madame de Pompadour. Madame de Pompadour was born Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson to a nouveau riche father, who, during her childhood, would have to be smuggled out of the country to avoid punishment for his large debts. Madame de Pompadour arrived at court as the official mistress to the king (Louis XV) in 1745.ref-qbe110002-1(p99) She was not well received by all, although the queen did prefer her to Louis's other mistresses. Many at court called her names, some jokingly referring to her humble beginnings and a last name that in French translates as fish. Her post was highly sought after, and many mistresses tried to usurp her for the top spot. Madame de Pompadour needed to keep the King constantly amused and seduced, a task that became even more difficult once their sexual relationship ceased in 1750. She sought to retain the king's interest through art, and she needed the genius of Boucher to do it.To retain her position, Madame de Pompadour needed an artist who could remind the king of why he chose her. In Boucher's many portraits of Madame de Pompadour she never shows any signs of age; she remains the woman the king fell in love with. She also needed Boucher's help to keep the king entertained. Constant changes in decoration were one way to achieve this. The painting by Boucher shown herein (The Four Seasons: Winter ; 1755; The Frick Collection, New York, New York) is an example of this. It is part of a series created to represent the 4 seasons and probably was meant to be placed over doors or mirrors in the apartments inhabited by the king and his mistress. The painting shows a winter scene with a young woman and a gentleman pushing her on a golden curving sled. Instead of the woman being a personification of winter, she instead reminds the viewer that winter is not all bad. As she sits in her sled, she turns slightly to look out, her large doelike eyes engage the viewer and may even remind a contemporary audience of the exaggeration of women depicted by Japanese anime artists. Her pink cheeks, flushed from either the wind or from the returning glance of the viewer, perfectly match her pink satin gown, which for warmth is trimmed in fur that surrounds her hands and reveals her décolletage. The landscape behind her is bleak and cold, but she represents warmth. The gentleman who leans down as if to ask her if she is cold has vaguely Russian characteristics. The fashion for Russian decoration and subject matter would increase dramatically a few years later; Boucher's pupil Jean-Baptiste LePrince would use it often in his work.ref-qbe110002-1(p122)Boucher and the other artists employed by Madame de Pompadour were successful in helping her retain her post. She remained Louis XV's official mistress until her death in 1764. Although she commissioned some of the finest French art of her time, history has not looked favorably on her. Almost none of the work she commissioned was for public consumption. She became a villain to the French people and a catalyst for the French Revolution. Unfortunately, her excesses and those of her companions brought the work of the artists she employed, along with her successors, down the path to the guillotine as well.One of the hardest aspects of looking at a work of art is to see it not through modern eyes but in the context in which it was created. Boucher was creating art with specifications laid out by a patron. The work he created was an imaginative escape, a way to bring the most idealized outdoor settings inside. While Boucher was painting these images, the streets of Paris were filled with the destitute and were full of poverty and garbage. Women of the time had taken to filling their rooms with flowers not only to bring nature in but to keep the real world out. Paris was a city on the brink of drastic changes, and Boucher's work represents the art that those who did not want to face it chose to surround themselves with. Is the work decadent, frivolous, light, and elitist? Perhaps. Is the work a pleasure to look at? Which is the more important question?Financial Disclosure: None reported.REFERENCEHedley J. Francois Boucher: Seductive Visions.. London, England: Wallace Collection; 2004 Google ScholarFiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsCited byJacques Louis David's Madame de Pastoret and Her Son Emily B. Collins2 July 2012 | Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery, Vol. 14, No. 4 Volume 14Issue 1Jan 2012 InformationCopyright 2012 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved. Applicable FARS/DFARS Restrictions Apply to Government Use.To cite this article:Emily B. Collins.The Four Seasons: Winter, by François Boucher.Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery.Jan 2012.76-76.http://doi.org/10.1001/archfaci.14.1.76Published in Volume: 14 Issue 1: January 2, 2012PDF download
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