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

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

portrait painter Portrait painting is a Hierarchy of genres, 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 commissio ...

and

pastel A pastel () is an art medium that consists of powdered pigment and a binder (material), binder. It can exist in a variety of forms, including a stick, a square, a pebble, and a pan of color, among other forms. The pigments used in pastels are ...

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.

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 ...

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

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Located between the Med ...

and

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) 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 France, department of ...

before moving to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

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

King Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir-apparent of King Louis XV), and Mari ...

, to whom he was possibly introduced to by the

Abbé ''Abbé'' (from Latin , in turn from Greek , , from Aramaic ''abba'', a title of honour, literally meaning "the father, my father", emphatic state of ''abh'', "father") is the French word for an abbot. It is also the title used for lower-ranki ...

de Vermond, a confidant of

Marie-Antoinette Marie Antoinette (; ; Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution and the establishment of the French First Republic. She was the wife of Louis XVI. Born Archd ...

at the court. He is believed to have been influenced by Quentin de la Tour. He exhibited at the

Paris Salon The Salon (), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art event in the Western world. At the ...

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

Jacobin Club The Society of the Friends of the Constitution (), renamed the Society of the Jacobins, Friends of Freedom and Equality () after 1792 and commonly known as the Jacobin Club () or simply the Jacobins (; ), was the most influential List of polit ...

. 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, widely recognised as one of the most influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. Robespierre fer ...

, Marat and

Desmoulins Lucie-Simplice-Camille-Benoît Desmoulins (; 2 March 17605 April 1794) was a French journalist, politician and a prominent figure of the French Revolution. He is best known for playing an instrumental role in the events that led to the Stormin ...

, and French military officers such as Lafayette and Berthier. Under the

constitutional monarchy Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited 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 making decisions. ...

he remained loyal to

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

, and in 1792 acted as an intermediary between him and the

Girondins The Girondins (, ), also called Girondists, were a political group during the French Revolution. From 1791 to 1793, the Girondins were active in the Legislative Assembly and the National Convention. Together with the Montagnards, they initiall ...

. He was arrested as a counter-revolutionary during the

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the French First Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and Capital punishment in France, nu ...

, 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 Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun or simply as Madame Le Brun, was a French painter who mostly specialized in portrait painting, in the late 18th and early 19t ...

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

Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

, 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 The Jardin du Luxembourg (), known in English as the Luxembourg Ga ...

in 1805 and 1811. In 1817, he was granted a pension by

King Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...

in the

Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to: France under the House of Bourbon: * Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815) Spain under the Spanish Bourbons: * Ab ...

. 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 (, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to General officer, generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1793–1804) ...

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 Jean-Paul 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 ...

, 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, widely recognised as one of the most influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. Robespierre fer ...

attributed to Boze, c. 1794 File:Jeanne Louise Henriette Campan.jpg,

Jeanne-Louise-Henriette Campan Henriette Campan (Jeanne Louise Henriette; ''née'' Genet; 2 OctoberMadame Campan, ''Memoirs of the Court of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France'', 1752 16 March 1822) also known as Madame Campan, was a French educator, writer and Lady's maid. In t ...

, 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 corps ...

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

Duchess Maria Elisabeth in Bavaria Duchess ''Maria Elisabeth'' Amalie Franziska in Bavaria (5 May 1784 – 1 June 1849) was a Duchess in Bavaria as a member of the Palatine Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen line of the House of Wittelsbach and through her marriage to Louis-Alexandre Berth ...

, undated File:Maréchal Berthier.jpg,

Louis-Alexandre Berthier Louis-Alexandre Berthier, prince de Neuchâtel et Valangin, prince de Wagram (; 20 November 1753 – 1 June 1815) was a French military commander who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was twice Minister of Wa ...

Marshal of the Empire Marshal of the Empire () was a civil dignity during the First French Empire. It was established by on 18 May 1804 and to a large extent reinstated the formerly abolished title of Marshal of France. According to the ''Sénatus-consulte'', a Mar ...

and husband of Maria Elisabeth, undated

References

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