Bon Boullogne

He took his first lessons from his father, whom he is thought to have assisted in the Grande Galerie of the Louvre.

Through his father, who presented a half-length figure of St John by Bon to Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Contrôleur Général des Finances, he was sent to the Académie de France in Rome as a Pensionnaire du Roi.

[1] In this capacity, he made copies of famous works, in particular some frescoes by Raphael in the Vatican Loggie, intended for reproduction as Gobelins tapestries.

He studied the work of Antonio da Correggio and the Annibale Carracci, as well as Guido Reni, Domenichino and Francesco Albani.

Also of influence to Bon was Nordic art, as demonstrated in his female portraits framed by plant like motifs, a device taken up by his pupil Robert Tournières.

Tobias and Tobit , c. 1705, Palais des Beaux-Arts , Lille
Neptune bringing Amphitrite in his marine chariot by Bon Boullogne ( Musée des Beaux-Arts de Tours )