Louis Maurice Boutet de Monvel

French, 1850 - 1913

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French painter (1850-1913)

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This horizontal painting is tightly packed with colorfully dressed groups of soldiers and knights on horseback surging toward each other. The scene is created with small areas of vivid, mostly flat color, almost like a collage. Long lances and spears create a forest of diagonals among the battling men. The hands and the few faces we can see are painted with pale, peachy skin. The soldiers on the left side wear tunics and leggings in tones of pumpkin orange, sage green, rose pink, ruby red, or azure blue. Most wear pointed, silver helmets with wide brims, and many hold lances as they charge the knights to our right. Near an ash-gray tree in the upper left, a rust-brown horse rears up among the throng, as his rider leans back and pulls on the reins. One person has been lifted off the ground while trying to hold the horse’s bridle. More knights on horseback sweep in from the right wearing silver armor, and riding gray, saffron orange, or brown horses. Several aim carrot-orange lances wrapped with white stripes at the enemy. The horses lunge forward with gaping mouths and wide eyes, their front legs outstretched. A band of knights in the distance in the upper right hold butter-yellow, celery-green, powder-blue, and white pennants that snap in the wind. The blue sky above the battle is scattered with white clouds on the right that transition to darker, tan clouds on the left. The artist signed the lower left corner, “M. Boutet de Monvel.”
Louis Maurice Boutet de Monvel, The Turmoil of Conflict (Joan of Arc series: IV), c. late 1909-early 1913, oil and gold leaf on canvas, Corcoran Collection (William A. Clark Collection), 2015.19.37

The Turmoil of Conflict (Joan of Arc series: IV)

Louis Maurice Boutet de Monvel · c. late 1909-early 1913 · oil and gold leaf on canvas ·  Accession ID  2015.19.37

A young blond person stands in the center of a dimly lit room facing dozens of men in this horizontal painting. The people all have pale skin, though many are in shadow. The central person, Joan of Arc, stands in profile facing our left. She clutches one hand at her chest and the other extends in front of her, fingers arcing up. She has chin-length hair and bangs. Her brow is furrowed and her lips parted. She wears a lapis-blue, high-necked tunic over smoke-gray stockings and pointed black shoes. A metal band encircles her waist and a chain and manacle hang from one of two rings there. The chamber is lined with two rows of seats that extend along the short side to our left and the long wall across from us. A man wearing a white robe and a burnished gold mitre hat and cloak sits in the corner, both arms resting on a high throne. The other men wear clergy’s brown or black and white robes or long garments in slate blue, olive green, tawny brown, charcoal gray, and silvery white. Most wear hats. Four more men sit around a table covered in a grass-green cloth behind Joan, to our right. One man looks down at and writes on a sheet of paper. About half a dozen soldiers wearing silvery helmets and holding spear-topped halberds cluster in the back right corner, beyond the table. A wood stepstool sits closer to us, in front of the table, in the lower right corner. The walls of the chamber are paneled in a rectangular grid of light brown planks over darker wood, and the floor is tiled with small pink rectangles. The artist has signed in the lower right, “M. Boutet de Monvel.”
Louis Maurice Boutet de Monvel, The Trial of Joan of Arc (Joan of Arc series: VI), c. late 1909-early 1910, oil and gold leaf on canvas, Corcoran Collection (William A. Clark Collection), 2015.19.39

The Trial of Joan of Arc (Joan of Arc series: VI)

Louis Maurice Boutet de Monvel · c. late 1909-early 1910 · oil and gold leaf on canvas ·  Accession ID  2015.19.39

Two by two, monks wearing black and white, hooded robes lead a procession headed by an armored woman on horseback, Joan of Arc, on a rutted, sand-brown road in this horizontal painting. Most of the monks fold their hands at their waist, and the others tuck their hands into voluminous sleeves. One monk holds a tall gold cross and one a horizontal forked banner decorated with two angels. Another pair of monks in pecan-brown, hooded robes walk beside Joan’s butterscotch-brown horse. Joan wears a pale, silvery helmet and full armor, and she holds her fingertips together in prayer as she looks up. The horse has a brilliant blue saddle and collar. A young man wearing marigold orange, light blue, and black leads the horse by the bridle. More armored men on horseback behind Joan hold red, blue, or striped lances vertically by their sides. Dozens of men line the far side of the road, kneeling and holding up tall, blade-tipped halberds. Countless men on horseback line the horizon in the distance, which comes two-thirds of the way up the composition. The artist signed the painting in gray in the lower left, “M. Boutet de Monvel.” 
Louis Maurice Boutet de Monvel, The Maid in Armor on Horseback (Joan of Arc series: III), c. 1908-late 1909, oil and gold leaf on canvas, Corcoran Collection (William A. Clark Collection), 2015.19.36

The Maid in Armor on Horseback (Joan of Arc series: III)

Louis Maurice Boutet de Monvel · c. 1908-late 1909 · oil and gold leaf on canvas ·  Accession ID  2015.19.36

A woman to our right kneels with her hands in prayer as she looks to our left at a vision in a landscape in this horizontal painting. The vision is of a person wearing gold armor, who is flanked by two more people, all encased an oval-shaped full-body halo. The people all have smooth, pale skin, and the women have ash-blond hair. The armored person, Saint Michael, has copper-colored hair and he hovers, feet hanging loose, low over the ground. His body is angled sharply to our right. Both of his arms are outstretched in front of him at shoulder height, and he holds up a gold sword with his right hand. The end of the long sword disappears into the leafy canopy above. Pale pink and blue wings spread from his shoulders. The people to either side of him both wear white dresses patterned with gold designs, and each stands on a shell-pink cloud. The woman closer to us has a halo and holds a silver helmet. The woman farther from us holds out a long, slender, silver sword with both hands. The encompassing halo is ringed with narrow flames. This trio and the halo take up the leftmost third of the composition. They are backed and surrounded by olive-green and golden brown trees. A thick tree trunk immediately to their right has two gouges taken from near the roots. The kneeling woman wears a black scarf and pink jacket-like garment over a long beige dress. She faces our left in profile, looking up at Saint Michael with her lips parted and her eyebrows lifted. Six cream-white sheep stand and lie on the ground behind her, to our right. A basket near her feet has tipped over, spilling its white contents. Grassy hills dotted with pale green trees extends into the deep distance. Puffy peach clouds line the horizon, which comes just over halfway up the composition. The artist signed the lower left corner, “M.Boutet de Monvel.”
Louis Maurice Boutet de Monvel, The Vision and Inspiration (Joan of Arc series: I), c. 1907-early 1909, oil and gold leaf on canvas, Corcoran Collection (William A. Clark Collection), 2015.19.34

The Vision and Inspiration (Joan of Arc series: I)

Louis Maurice Boutet de Monvel · c. 1907-early 1909 · oil and gold leaf on canvas ·  Accession ID  2015.19.34

A wide hall or church space is filled with throngs of people focused on a young man kneeling in front of a clutch of clergymen in this horizontal painting. The people all have smooth, pale skin. Their clothing is intricately patterned with areas of vivid color, creating a collage-like effect. The ten clergymen stand on a low platform to our left. Most wear yellow and gold-colored vestments and conical, split mitre hats though one wears a scarlet-red robe and brimmed hat. The kneeling young man they face, the Dauphin, is draped in an azure-blue cloak adorned with gold fleur-de-lis and a shawl-length cape of black-speckled white ermine fur. He leans forward over one stockinged foot with his hands pressed together as the front bishop bends to gesture over him. Four men stand closer to us to our right of the Dauphin, their backs to us. A young person with chin-length blond hair kneels behind this group. A sword hangs at one hip and the head tips down, eyes closed. The arm we see is covered in shiny silver armor, and it holds up a blue standard. The fabric of the standard and of the person’s robe is white with gold fleur-de-lis. Another group of men stand to our right, also facing inward toward the Dauphin. Six of them lift their faces, their mouths open as if in song, as they pull swords out of sheaths or hold them overhead. White banners, also with gold fleur-de-lis and a gold cross against a sky-blue clover shape, hang from almost a dozen long, pale-gold horns being played, lifted high in the air, at the back of the group. The two groups of men wear tunics, robes, and stockings in cherry red, rose pink, fawn brown, burnt orange, harvest yellow, violet, or plum purple. Countless swords are also held aloft across the background against peach, celestial blue, pale yellow, and white standards. Ladies in mauve, seafoam green, petal pink, and taupe fill pink balconies in the upper left corner overlooking the scene. White veils flow from their tall, pointed hats. A heather-purple, narrow carpet scattered with flowers creates a runner leading up to the Dauphin and platform over a richly patterned floor beneath. The artist signed and dated the lower right, “M.Boutet de Monvel 1907.”
Louis Maurice Boutet de Monvel, The Crowning at Rheims of the Dauphin (Joan of Arc series: V), 1907, oil and gold leaf on canvas, Corcoran Collection (William A. Clark Collection), 2015.19.38

The Crowning at Rheims of the Dauphin (Joan of Arc series: V)

Louis Maurice Boutet de Monvel · 1907 · oil and gold leaf on canvas ·  Accession ID  2015.19.38

Dozens of people, all with pale peach skin, cluster tightly beyond a person kneeling at the center of this horizontal painting. The composition is filled from edge to edge with colorful patterns in the clothing, a wall-covering in the background, an area rug, and the tile floor, creating a collage-like effect. The men wear floor-length robes or tunics and stockings, and most wear hats or turbans. The women wear long, high-waisted dresses and tall, cone-shaped hats with veils or fabric draped from the peaks. Their garments are patterned in tones of burgundy, rust, and crimson red, forest and spring green, marigold orange, lemon and golden yellow, rose pink, and azure blue. The person kneeling at the center has chin-length blond hair, and wears a black, long-sleeved tunic, pointed black shoes, and gray stockings. That person faces our left in profile and raises a straight right arm to shoulder height, palm down and fingers extended, toward a standing man wearing a royal-blue robe to our left. Pale yellow, mauve-pink, and white flowers are strewn on the tiled floor in front of the crowd.
Louis Maurice Boutet de Monvel, Her Appeal to the Dauphin (Joan of Arc series: II), 1906, oil and gold leaf on canvas, Corcoran Collection (William A. Clark Collection), 2015.19.35

Her Appeal to the Dauphin (Joan of Arc series: II)

Louis Maurice Boutet de Monvel · 1906 · oil and gold leaf on canvas ·  Accession ID  2015.19.35

Louis Maurice Boutet de Monvel, E. Plon, Nourrit & Cie, E. Plon, Nourrit & Cie, Jeanne d'Arc (Joan of Arc), 1896, unbound portfolio of color photolithographs with text on Japan paper mounted on wove paper, Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase with funds provided by an anonymous gift), 2015.19.5300

Jeanne d'Arc (Joan of Arc)

Louis Maurice Boutet de Monvel, E. Plon, Nourrit & Cie, E. Plon, Nourrit & Cie · 1896 · unbound portfolio of color photolithographs with text on Japan paper mounted on wove paper ·  Accession ID  2015.19.5300

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Les Menus et Programmes illustrés

Alphonse Marie Mucha, Henri-Gabriel Ibels, Jules Chéret, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Louis Maurice Boutet de Monvel, Léon Maillard · 1898 · bound volume with 460 lithographic and photozincotype illustrations, 22 hors-texte plates in color and duotone, and the original lithographed end papers by Mucha, bound in contemporary brown half-morocco, marbled boards and end papers with floral decorative gilded tooling on spine ·  Accession ID  2001.59.1