Louis-Léopold Boilly: Painting in monochrome
Discover the story behind this painting and why Boilly chose to paint it in black and white
A Girl at a Window (about 1799) by Louis-Léopold BoillyThe National Gallery, London
Louis-Léopold Boilly's 'A Girl at a Window' is one of the few works in the national collection which is painted in monochrome. But why did Boilly choose to paint in black and white?
Painting in Monochrome
Made some time after 1799, Boilly's 'A Girl at a Window' is painted largely in tones of black, grey and white, using a technique known as 'grisaille' (the French for 'grey').
This technique of using monochrome (just one colour - often grey) or a very limited colour palette. This technique has a long history, which stretches as far back as the Renaissance period.
Painting with such limited colours presents a significant challenge for artists. By choosing to use this technique Boilly is showing us exactly how well he can paint and the effects he can achieve, even when only using a monochrome palette.
17th-Century Dutch 'fine painters'
Boilly draws on the influence of 17th-century Dutch painters, in particular the group of artists known as the 'Fijnschilders' (fine painters), so-called because of the highly finished and intricately detailed works they produced.
These paintings were very popular and collectors across Europe paid high prices for them during the late eighteenth-century, at a time when revolution had turned the French art world on its head.
One of the 'fine painters' that Boilly was most influenced by was Gerrit Dou. He was celebrated as the founder of the 'Fijnschilders' group and was renowned for his minute and highly detailed paintings. His works were often framed by arched stone openings and featured meticulously detailed depictions of everyday objects (as shown above). We do not have to look too closely at Dou's works to see that direct similarities can be drawn between them and Boilly's 'A Girl at a Window'.
A Girl at a Window (about 1799) by Louis-Léopold BoillyThe National Gallery, London
A Master of Illusionism
Not only does Boilly show his technical skill and influences, but he is also doing something more with this picture. This painting is an exercise in illusionism...it is a painting pretending to be a print.
Boilly was renowned as a master of illusionism. Here, he experiments with the idea of creating an artwork that isn't necessarily what it seems.
Boilly coined the term that we now commonly use for these kind of works - 'trompe-l'oeil'. This French term is translated as 'a trick of the eye'. Artworks associated with trompe-l'oeil had been made since the Renaissance. They were designed to fool the viewer, often aimed to create the illusion of dimension within a flat artwork and tricking the viewer into thinking that they could reach out and touch the objects depicted. In essence, they are paintings pretending to be something they are not.
But why a black and white print?
Boilly’s ‘A Girl at a Window’ is painted to look like a print. Technological innovations in the 18th century meant that prints were becoming more popular and widely circulated.
By the end of the century, artists were able to produce more sophisticated prints, and as such these works became valued as collector’s objects in their own right.
While Boilly’s painting uses tones of black, grey and white, there is one immensely important area of colour in this painting - the blue painted blue border around the central image.
A Girl at a Window (about 1799) by Louis-Léopold BoillyThe National Gallery, London
This border likely mimics the kind of paper mounts that would typically have been used to display prints in the late 18th century. If we look closely at Boilly's signature on the border, we can see that it has been painted deliberately to look like it is printed in type cast.
The Art of Looking
A master of illusionism, Boilly is encouraging us to look more closely and to actively question what we are seeing. The various objects included in this scene have been consciously selected, not only to draw the eye of the viewer, but to highlight the importance of looking.
Boilly has deliberately included several optical devices within his painting. The young boy peering out from the shadows looks inquisitively through a telescope and the girl sitting on the window ledge holds an eyeglass in her right hand.
With its various layers of technique and meaning, this is a painting which intends to hold our gaze and which, at its heart, is all about encouraging us to interrogate what we are looking at.
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