Cathy's Art Diary

Delightful exhibition at the National Gallery looking at the life and work of Louis-Leopold Boilly. Boilly lived and worked through the French Revolution, the Reign of Terror, the rise and fall of Napoleon and the restoration and fall of the Bourbon monarchy. He was the ultimate survivor and adapted his work to suit his changing audiences. He was one of the first artists to use the streets of Paris as a subject. The pictures were from Harry Hyam’s collection and were on show her for the first time publicly. The pictures ranged from what was virtually 18th century soft porn with a picture of two ladies taking off their stockings through to detailed studies of Parisian street life. I loved a picture of 31 artists, performers and men of letters in an artist’s studio in 1798 as well as a wonderfully detailed picture of a carnival scene which referenced some of the turbulent times he’d lived through. Boilly paints lovely dogs and you know I appreciate that. I liked one of a...

Delightful display at the Wallace Collection focusing on their three pictures by Louis-Léopold Boilly. Boilly witnessed the French Revolution, the rise of Napoleon and the restoration of the French monarchy and worked throughout that time adapting to suit his audiences. He is now known for his tongue in cheek scenes of bourgeoisie life and the three pictures here are of this genre. These pictures have been recently restored and studied for the catalogue raisonne for the artist. The works included Boy with a Mouse in which a boy leans through a window and waves a dead mouse at a younger child in its mother’s arms. I love the details of the house to show the class of the family with a guitar and fine foot stool but dull walls. The other two are a pair called The Visit Returned and The Sorrows. In the first a woman visits her lover who is playing the piano and in the second the implication is that he has either died or rejected her and her portrait which was on his piano ...