Biographies

Bernard Boutet de Monvel (1884 – 1949) He was born in Paris, where he studied with Luc Olivier Merson. He was known for both landscape and portrait painting, but gradually came to specialize in portraits and cityscapes. He also illustrated books and worked for fashion magazines. He is known as an Art Deco artist, and his style has been called hyperrealistic. He came to the U. S. for a time in his later years and made some interesting views of New York City, among other things. In for May 14, 1914 , Anthony Ludovici had this to say about Monvel: The New Age (NA 15.14.44) There is one picture with the painter of which I certainly feel some sympathy. Most critics seem to have attacked him for cutting his model out in tin. I confess I did not get that impression. On the contrary, the portrait of “Colonel D. d’Osnolochine,” by Bernard Boutet de Monvel (No. 152), struck me as being one of the best things in the Grand Palais. I have never seen a picture that gave me a more moving image of a military man. The steely blackness of the sky behind and the almost dramatic white light flooding th,e figure lend a livid majesty to the painting which is not at all out of keeping either with the true martial spirit or with the type of man represented. Of all the pictures at the Grand Palais, I shall forget this one last.