Roger Boutet de Monvel (4 December 1879 – 25 December 1951) was a French writer of historical studies and magazine articles on fashion and other topics.

Biography

Born in the

4th arrondissement of Paris The 4th arrondissement of Paris (''IVe arrondissement'') is one of the twenty arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''quatrième''. Along with the 1st, 2nd and 3rd arrondissement ...

, Roger Boutet de Monvel was the oldest son of

Maurice Boutet de Monvel Louis-Maurice Boutet de Monvel (18 October 1850 – 16 March 1913) was a French painter and illustrator best known for his watercolours for children's books. He was a major figure in nineteenth-century children's book illustration. Early ...

(1850–1913), a painter and illustrator of children's books. His brother was

Bernard Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "brav ...

was also an artist. He was raised in Paris and in

Nemours Nemours () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Geography Nemours is located on the Loing and its canal, c. south of Melun, on the Moret–Lyon railway. Nemours – Saint-Pierre s ...

, where his maternal grandparents owned a house. He often served as a model for his father; for example, his silhouette appears in his father's illustrations for

Anatole France (; born , ; 16 April 1844 – 12 October 1924) was a French poet, journalist, and novelist with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters. He was a member of the Académie França ...

's ''Nos enfants'', which also has an entire chapter about him. After he finished his education, Boutet de Monvel took a position as secretary to the director of the

Imprimerie nationale The Imprimerie nationale (), known also as IN Groupe brand, is a company specialized in the production of secure documents, such as identity cards and passports, and a supplier of public utility identification applications. Owned by the French st ...

. He began publishing articles in the early 1900s, at first usually in collaboration with his father or brother. His first major work, a historical study entitled ''Les variétés'' (The Variety Shows), was published in 1905 by Plon, which would remain his publisher for most of his career. Later historical studies took as their themes the upper social classes of France, the life of

St. Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christianit ...

, and the writers

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...

and

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-emin ...

. In 1911, he took a job at the Carnavalet Museum in conservation. He joined the armed forces during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

but was discharged early on due to a leg injury. Beginning in 1917, he published several books with war-related themes, including ''Carnet d'un permissionnaire'' (Notebook from a Soldier on Leave, 1917), ''Le bon anglais'' (The Good Englishman, 1918) and ''Nos frères d'Amériques'' (Our American Brothers, 1918). Something of a dandy, Boutet de Monvel was engaged with the fashion industry in various ways. In 1912, he began writing for the ''

Gazette du Bon Ton The ''Gazette du Bon Ton'' was a small but influential fashion magazine published in France from 1912 to 1925.Davis48 Founded by Lucien Vogel, the short-lived publication reflected the latest developments in fashion, lifestyle and beauty during ...

'', a leading fashion magazine of the day, and shortly became a regular contributor. In 1915 he attended the

Panama–Pacific International Exposition The Panama–Pacific International Exposition was a world's fair held in San Francisco, California, United States, from February 20 to December 4, 1915. Its stated purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, but it was widely se ...

in San Francisco as a representative from the French fashion industry. The following year, he wrote promotional copy for designer

Paul Poiret Paul Poiret (20 April 1879 – 30 April 1944, Paris, France) was a French fashion designer, a master couturier during the first two decades of the 20th century. He was the founder of his namesake haute couture house. Early life and care ...

. After the war, he returned to writing about fashion in ''Gazette du Bon Ton'' as well as in magazines like ''Vogue'', ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the st ...

'', and ''Monsieur''. He died in the

8th arrondissement of Paris The 8th arrondissement of Paris (''VIIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, the arrondissement is colloquially referred to as ''le huitième'' ("the eighth"). The arrondissement, ...

on Christmas Day 1951. He left a set of unpublished memoirs that he had been working on since the late 1930s.

Works

* "Children's Costumes in the Nineteenth Century", ''

Century Magazine ''The Century Magazine'' was an illustrated monthly magazine first published in the United States in 1881 by The Century Company of New York City, which had been bought in that year by Roswell Smith and renamed by him after the Century Associati ...

'', 1904; with illustrations by Maurice Boutet de Monvel * ''Les Variétés'' (The Variety Shows), 1905 * ''Georges Brummel and Georges IV'', 1906. Translated as: ''

Beau Brummel George Bryan "Beau" Brummell (7 June 1778 – 30 March 1840) was an important figure in Regency England and, for many years, the arbiter of men's fashion. At one time, he was a close friend of the Prince Regent, the future King George IV, but ...

and His Times'', 1908 * ''Les anglais à Paris'', 1911. Translated as: ''Eminent English Men & Women in Paris'', 1912 * ''Carnet d'un permissionnaire'' (Notebook from a Soldier on Leave), 1917 * ''Le bon anglais'' (The Good Englishman), 1918 * ''Nos frères d'Amériques'' (Our American Brothers), 1918 * ''Grands seigneurs et bourgeois d'Angleterre'' (The Great Lords and Bourgeoisie of England), Plon Publishers, 1918 * ''Une vie de Saint François d'Assise'' (Life of Saint Francis of Assisi), 1921; with illustrations by Maurice Boutet de Monvel * ''La vie de Lord Byron'' (Life of Lord Byron), 1924 * ''La vie martial du Bailli de Suffren'' (The Martial Life of Bailli de Suffren), 1929 * ''Cerventès et les enchanteurs'', 1933. Translated as: ''Cervantes and the Magicians'', 1934 * ''Pérou et Chile'' (Peru and Chile), 1937

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Monvel, Roger Boutet de 19th-century French writers Writers from Paris 1879 births 1951 deaths French male writers 19th-century French male writers