Francois-Hubert Drouais

Life: 1727 – 1775 (1)

Country: France

Style(s): Neoclassicism

Works: Madame du Barry

            Madame Charles Simon Favart (1757)

            The Young Pupil (1760)

            Portrait of Mme de Pompadour (1763-64)

Fun Fact: Drouais painted his famous picture of Madame de Pompadour after her death (2).

             Drouais invites you into his home and it is immediately clear that Drouais is a portrait painter at heart. There are only a few paintings, but they are all portraits and they are placed to emphasize their importance in the room. There are even some of more famous women such as Madame de Pompadour and Madame du Barry.  It seems as if those important ladies are sitting in the room themselves.

             Unexpectedly, Drouais immediately brings up the subject of Chucky without even forcing you to go on another art tour. He tells you that his old teacher, Boucher, has been acting suspiciously for some time (1). As soon as he says that Boucher is his teacher, you glance around at the artwork and notice that there is a striking similarity between Boucher’s work and Drouais’ (3). It looks as though Drouais has leaned heavily on Boucher’s style.

            Drouais says that you must do one thing for him before you go. He instructs you to walk into the next room and look at the portrait of Madame du Barry. “Did you know,” he says, “that I painted that after her death?” You cock your head as you look at the painting, amazed that at a time when there were no photographs, such an accurate rendition of a person could be made from memory. Then you remember Boucher.