Bernard Boutet de Monvel (9 August 1881 – 28 October 1949) was a French painter, sculptor, engraver, fashion illustrator and interior decorator.

[5] Some of his earliest etchings were of his brother Roger — L'habitué (The regular, 1902);[6] L'homme aux chiens (Man with dogs, 1905)[7] — and were stylistically reminiscent of James McNeill Whistler's work.

He also made work celebrating as the citizens of Nemours and the riverbanks of the Loing; these include L'éclusière (The lock keeper, 1901);[8] Les haleurs (The haulers, 1899);[9] Le chaland (The lighter, 1899);[9] and La péniche (The barge, 1899).

[12] Boutet de Monvel was simultaneously working in oil painting, especially portraits, which he began to exhibit at the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts in 1903.

[18] His 1908 self-portrait entitled The Portrait, which showed him in the Nemours countryside on a stormy day flanked by two greyhounds, earned him critical recognition and nomination to membership in the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts.

[19] In 1909, Boutet de Monvel exhibited at Devambez Gallery a manifesto painting entitled Esquisse (Sketch, 1908),[20] a portrait made using only a ruler and a pair of compasses.

For financial reasons, Boutet de Monvel also contributed illustrations, especially fashion drawings, to magazines such as Fémina, Jardin des modes nouvelles, and Gazette du Bon Ton.

[citation needed] After several plane accidents, Boutet de Monvel left Macedonia in June 1917 with the Légion d'Honneur award and five commendations.

[26] His Moroccan paintings and his bas-reliefs, which Boutet de Monvel always considered his finest work, were exhibited in 1925 at the Henri Barbazanges gallery under the patronage of Marshal Lyautey.

[27] The introductory text to the catalogue, written by Jérôme and Jean Tharaud, ended with these words: “(In Morocco) Boutet de Monvel set down on paper the appearance of a day and forever, just at the point where this profound element is at risk of disappearing”.

[32] Interior designs he participated in included Jean Patou's Parisian hotel (1923), actress Jane Renouardt's villa in Saint Cloud (1924–1925); and Mrs. Edeline Jacques' Biarritz dining room (1925).

[31] Together with some similar views of a Chicago steelworks in 1928, these paintings bear comparison with work by major figures of the Precisionist movement such as Charles Sheeler.

In the 1930s, his portraits of the international elite included the Maharajah Yashwant Rao Holkar II and Maharani Sanyogita Devi of Indore in court dress (1934),[33] Lady Charles Mendl (1936),[34] and the Marquis de Cuevas (1938).