Joseph Boze

Title: Portrait of a Girl
Medium: Pastel
Dimensions: Sight - 52 x 44 cm; Frame - 69 x 61 cm

This elegant pastel portrait by Joseph Boze captures a serene and delicate moment with remarkable finesse. The oval composition features a young girl positioned in a semi-profile angle, holding delicate flowers in her right hand. She gazes out of the frame with a gentle expression, her head slightly inclined towards the flowers she holds.

Description:
The girl’s blonde hair is meticulously styled and adorned with white flowers, complementing her pastel pink and white garments. The softness of her attire, combined with the overall composition, conveys an air of delicacy and tranquility. The neutral sienna background provides a subtle yet effective contrast, allowing the subject to stand out as the focal point of the portrait. The harmonious blending of colors and the refined brushwork enhance the painting's sense of peace and grace.

About the Artist:
Joseph Boze was born on February 7, 1746, in Martigues, France, the son of a sailor. His artistic education began in Marseille, Nîmes, and Montpellier before he moved to Paris in 1778. In Paris, Boze gained prominence as a portrait painter at the court of King Louis XVI, potentially through an introduction by Abbé de Vermond, a confidant of Marie-Antoinette. Influenced by the works of Quentin de la Tour, Boze exhibited at the Paris Salon starting in 1791, though his early reviews were unfavorable.

Boze initially supported the French Revolution and painted portraits of prominent revolutionary figures, including Robespierre, Marat, and Desmoulins, as well as military leaders like Lafayette and Berthier. Despite his revolutionary support, he remained loyal to Louis XVI and acted as an intermediary during the constitutional monarchy. His political stance led to his arrest during the Reign of Terror, although he was released in 1794.

In later years, Boze's life during the Consulate and Empire period remains less documented, though he was noted to be living in the quartier de la Sorbonne in Paris in 1805 and 1811. In 1817, he was granted a pension by King Louis XVIII during the Bourbon Restoration. Joseph Boze passed away in Paris on January 17, 1826.