FREITAG, 26. SEPTEMBER 2025 
This Week in La Gazette Drouot : François Boucher's only still life appears at auction
S igned "F. Boucher", this unicum featuring a lapwing and a variegated fighter is the first of the painter's reappearances. A double tribute to Fyt and Chardin, but also an ode by the artist-collector to his beloved cabinets of curiosities.
By Carole Blumenfeld
Read the full version of "François Boucher's only still life, influenced by Chardin and Fyt" in La Gazette Drouot
Read the full version of "François Boucher's only still life, influenced by Chardin and Fyt" in La Gazette Drouot
No stand-alone still life by François Boucher has ever reached us before. Now it has! But it would be naive to be surprised, given that Oudry's close friend - godfather to his daughter - a fervent admirer of Nordic painting and a passionate collector of curiosities, seemed inclined to take up the challenge.
In La Conchyliologie nouvelle et portative, published in 1767, the author adds that "this ingenious painter has placed his shells on tables covered with mirrors; they present the viewer with an enamelled parterre that seems to rival nature. On the left as you enter, there is a glass cabinet filled with madrepores, minerals and pebbles, all of which are of the utmost beauty".
Conchyliology, butterflies and Nordic paintings
During his stay in Paris in 1766-1767, the Savoyard Costa de Beauregard marveled at Boucher's "infinite number of the most beautiful minerals, corals, all kinds of marine plants, petrifications" at the Louvre: "He has an immense natural history cabinet. It's the most beautiful thing you can see. I've seen some beautiful butterflies there. Some of them, with their wings outstretched, are at least half a foot wide... Everything is arranged with great art and taste".In La Conchyliologie nouvelle et portative, published in 1767, the author adds that "this ingenious painter has placed his shells on tables covered with mirrors; they present the viewer with an enamelled parterre that seems to rival nature. On the left as you enter, there is a glass cabinet filled with madrepores, minerals and pebbles, all of which are of the utmost beauty".
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