Portrait de son épouse Julie

Portrait of His Wife Julie by Boilly records the artist’s personal life within his professional practice. Boilly’s intimate domestic subjects and family portraits reveal a gentler side of the painter best known for his witty genre scenes of Parisian street life and his remarkable trompe-l’oeil still lifes. Characteristic of the artist's mature approach, the work displays miniaturist precision in oil, meticulous rendering of fashionable dress and domestic interiors, genre scenes crowded with sharply observed social types.

The intimate portrait shows Boilly’s characteristically precise technique applied to a personal subject. The warmth of the handling suggests the affectionate relationship between artist and sitter.