Rating and value of paintings by Louis Maurice Boutet de Monvel

If you own a work by or about the artist Louis Maurice Boutet de Monvel, and would like to know its value, our state-approved experts and auctioneers will offer you their appraisal services. Our specialists will carry out a free appraisal of your work, and provide you with a precise estimate of its current market value. Then, if you wish to sell your work, we will guide you towards the best possible arrangement to obtain the optimum price.   

Rating and value of artist Louis Maurice Boutet de Monvel    

A painter and draughtsman somewhat apart, Boutet de Monvel leaves behind a stylistic identity of his own. This legacy consists mainly of paintings. At present, the prices of his works are rising at the auctioneers' gavels, his quotation is stable. His canvases and other works are particularly prized, especially by French buyers, and the price at which they sell on the art market ranges from €90 to €49,000, a considerable delta but one that speaks volumes about the value that can be attributed to Boutet de Monvel's works. In 2005, an oil on canvas entitled Jeune fille à l'ombrelle dans les hortensias roses, sold for €49,000, whereas it was estimated at €6,000 to €8,000.

Order of value from a simple work to the most prestigious 

Style and technique of artist Louis Maurice Boutet de Monvel         

Boutet de Monvel painted a few portraits, but he worked mainly on landscape paintings and moved closer to orientalism during his career. He produced mostly oils on canvas, but also mastered the watercolor technique very well.

Louis Maurice Boutet de Monvel, his life, his work

Louis Maurice Boutet de Monvel (1850-1913) was a French painter who produced genre scenes, landscape paintings and portraits.

He was born in Orléans, into a family of artists. He followed the career of his father, a chemistry teacher at the Lycée Charlemagne, and so spent much of his childhood and adolescence in Paris. He studied painting with Rudder and then Cabanel at the Beaux-Arts de Paris. After the war with Prussia, he continued his training at the Académie Julian, and exhibited for the first time at the 1873 Salon. He used very dark tones at the start of his career, painting like Géricault with bitumen pigments. To change this aspect of his work, he turned to Carolus-Duran, whose colorimetry work was very important at the time. He traveled to Kabylia and Tunisia, where he produced some Orientalist works.

After the birth of his son, he became an illustrator to support himself and his family. In 1885, he submitted an openly royalist painting to the Salon de la Société des Artistes Français, which met with unanimous approval but was withdrawn at the government's request. In 1896, he produced the album Jeanne d'Arc, illustrated with watercolors, which is the most famous album he ever illustrated. He traveled to Austria, where in some respects he formed the New Vienna School, and took part in the 1900 Universal Exhibition, where his work was again dedicated to Joan of Arc.

He died in 1913 in Paris, aged 62.  

Boutet de Monvel's imprint on his time

Harold Speed left his mark on his era, and his output remains interesting today and prized by some collectors. Many artists have made use of his theories and manuals on the role of drawing and its science in art.

Today, his works are appreciated by collectors who play a big role in preserving his work, even if some paintings are exhibited in museums.

Recognizing the artist's signature

Boutet de Monvel sometimes signs his works, mostly at the bottom of the painting, in a color that contrasts with the background. 

Knowing the value of a work 

If you happen to own a work by Louis Maurice Boutet de Monvel or after the artist, don't hesitate to request a free appraisal using our form on our website. A member of our team of experts and certified auctioneers will contact you promptly to provide you with an estimate of the market value of your work, as well as ad hoc information about it. If you are considering selling your work, you will also be accompanied by our specialists in order to benefit from alternatives for selling it at the best possible price, taking into account market inclinations.