Joseph Boze (7 February 1746 – 17 January 1826) was a French

portrait painter Portrait Painting is a genre in painting, where the intent is to represent a specific human subject. The term 'portrait painting' can also describe the actual painted portrait. Portraitists may create their work by commission, for public and pr ...

and

pastel A pastel () is an art medium in a variety of forms including a stick, a square a pebble or a pan of color; though other forms are possible; they consist of powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are similar to those use ...

list mostly active during the ''

ancien régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

'' and the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

Biography

Boze was born in

Martigues Martigues ( in classical norm, ''Lou Martegue'' in Mistralian norm) is a commune northwest of Marseille. It is part of the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the eastern end of the Canal de Caronte. A di ...

on 7 February 1746, the son of a sailor. He studied painting in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; oc, Nimes ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and Cévennes, the commune of Nîmes has an estimated population of 148,5 ...

and

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

before moving to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1778. There he became a portrait painter at the court of

King Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was e ...

, to whom he was possibly introduced to by the Abbé de Vermond, a confidant of

Marie-Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child ...

at the court. He is believed to have been influenced by

Quentin de la Tour Maurice Quentin de La Tour (5 September 1704 – 17 February 1788) was a French Rococo portraitist who worked primarily with pastels. Among his most famous subjects were Voltaire, Rousseau, Louis XV of France, Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour. ...

. He exhibited at the

Paris Salon The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art ...

for the first time in 1791, where he received negative reviews. Boze initially supported the

, having joined the

Jacobin Club , logo = JacobinVignette03.jpg , logo_size = 180px , logo_caption = Seal of the Jacobin Club (1792–1794) , motto = "Live free or die"(french: Vivre libre ou mourir) , successor = Pa ...

. He painted portraits of numerous leaders of the Revolution, including

Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman who became one of the best-known, influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. As a member of the Esta ...

Marat Marat may refer to: People *Marat (given name) *Marat (surname) **Jean-Paul Marat (1743-1793), French political theorist, physician and scientist Arts, entertainment, and media *''Marat/Sade'', a 1963 play by Peter Weiss * ''Marat/Sade'' (fil ...

and

Desmoulins Lucie-Simplice-Camille-Benoît Desmoulins (; 2 March 17605 April 1794) was a French journalist and politician who played an important role in the French Revolution. Desmoulins was tried and executed alongside Georges Danton when the Committee of ...

, and French military officers such as

Lafayette Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...

and Berthier. Under the

constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...

he remained loyal to Louis XVI, and in 1792 acted as an intermediary between him and the

Girondins The Girondins ( , ), or Girondists, were members of a loosely knit political faction during the French Revolution. From 1791 to 1793, the Girondins were active in the Legislative Assembly and the National Convention. Together with the Montagnard ...

. He was arrested as a counter-revolutionary during the

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour, ...

, but was released in 1794. He signed a petition in 1799 to have the name of fellow painter

Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (; 16 April 1755 – 30 March 1842), also known as Madame Le Brun, was a French portrait painter, especially of women, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Her artistic style is generally considered part o ...

removed from the list of '' émigrés''. Little is known about his life during the subsequent

Consulat The Consulate (french: Le Consulat) was the top-level Government of France from the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire on 10 November 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire on 18 May 1804. By extension, the term ''The Co ...

e and the

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

, though he was attested to be living in Paris's

quartier de la Sorbonne The Quartier de la Sorbonne is the 20th administrative district or 'quartier' of Paris, France. It is located in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, near the jardin du Luxembourg and the Sorbonne, on the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève. It contains Paris' ...

in 1805 and 1811. In 1817 he was granted a pension by King Louis XVIII in the Bourbon Restoration. Boze died in Paris on 17 January 1826.

Gallery

Portraits

File:Louis XVI by Boze.jpg, King Louis XVI, c. 1784 File:Marie-Antoinette Boze.jpg, Queen Marie Antoinette, 1785 File:La Croix de Castries, Charles Eugène.jpg, Marquis de Castries,

Marshal of France Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1 ...

File:Boze - Honoré de Mirabeau.jpg, Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, Count of Mirabeau, 1789 File:Jean-Paul Marat portre.jpg,

Jean-Paul Marat Jean-Paul Marat (; born Mara; 24 May 1743 – 13 July 1793) was a French political theorist, physician, and scientist. A journalist and politician during the French Revolution, he was a vigorous defender of the ''sans-culottes'', a radical ...

, 1793 File:Portrait en buste de profil de Maximilien de Robespierre.jpg, Profile of

Maximilien de Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman who became one of the best-known, influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. As a member of the Esta ...

attributed to Boze, c. 1794 File:Jeanne Louise Henriette Campan.jpg, Jeanne-Louise-Henriette Campan, 1786 File:Joseph Boze - Portrait d'un général de division entre 1791 et 1794 - P737 - Musée Carnavalet.jpg, Portrait of a French

general of division Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corp ...

, between 1791 and 1794 File:Portrait of Duchess Maria Elisabeth in Bavaria.jpg,

Duchess Maria Elisabeth in Bavaria , title =Princess of Wagram , image =Portrait of Duchess Maria Elisabeth in Bavaria.jpg , caption =Portrait by Joseph Boze , consort =yes , succession = Princess consort of Neuchâtel , reign =9 March 1808 – ...

, undated File:Maréchal Berthier.jpg,

Louis-Alexandre Berthier Louis-Alexandre Berthier (20 November 1753 – 1 June 1815), Prince of Neuchâtel and Valangin, Prince of Wagram, was a French Marshal of the Empire who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was twice Minister ...

Marshal of the Empire Marshal of the Empire (french: Maréchal d'Empire) was a civil dignity during the First French Empire. It was created by ''Sénatus-consulte'' on 18 May 1804 and to a large extent reinstated the formerly abolished title of Marshal of France. Acc ...

and husband of Maria Elisabeth, undated

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boze, Joseph 1746 births 1826 deaths 18th-century French painters French portrait painters People from Martigues Portrait miniaturists Painters from Paris Court painters