Rating and value of works, paintings by Louis Léopold Boilly

If you own a work by or after Louis Léopold Boilly, and would like to know its value, our state-approved experts and auctioneers can offer you their appraisal services. Our specialists will carry out a free appraisal of your work, and provide you with a precise estimate of its current market value. Then, if you wish to sell your work, we'll guide you towards the best possible arrangement to obtain the optimum price.

Rating and value of the artist Louis Léopold Boilly

Louis Léopold Boilly left behind a singular body of work in the neoclassical movement. From then on, prices for his works rose under the auctioneers' gavels. His paintings are particularly prized, especially by French and American buyers. The price at which they sell on the art market ranges from €5 to €2,836,000, a substantial gap but one that says a lot about the value that can be attributed to Boilly's works. In 2017, his trompe-l'œil oil on canvas depicting a crucifix sold for €624,300, whereas it was estimated at between €459,000 and €734,000.

Order of value from a simple work to the most prestigious

Louis Léopold Boilly's style and technique

Louis Léopold Boilly was part of the neoclassical movement, painting mainly genre scenes and portraits. He was trained in the trompe-l'œil technique of oil on canvas, and was influenced by the Dutch masters.

Louis Léopold Boilly, trompe-l'oeil painter

Louis Léopold Boilly (1761 - 1845) was a French neoclassical painter. He was born in Douai, near Lille. His father was a woodcarver, and he came from a modest background. His first teacher was Collet. He then studied at Dominique Doncre's studio in Arras, before moving to Paris, where he painted portraits. At the age of 30, he exhibited his work at the Salon, making a name for himself with the public and critics alike, thanks to his portraits and trompe-l'œil.

The Comité du Salut Public, which defends the interests of the Republic, threatens him for obscenity. Boilly was not a republican, and opposed democracy. To defend himself, he produced a series of paintings in defense of the regime, including Triomphe de Marat, a popular subject at the time. He painted many genre scenes between the revolutionary events and the Restoration. He also produced satirical lithographs.
He became a member of the Institut de France after the Restoration, as the controversies surrounding his political opinions were no longer topical.

He painted almost exclusively genre scenes, not getting involved like François Gérard or Jean-Antoine Gros in the political propaganda of the first half of the 19th century.

Louis Léopold Boilly's influence on his time

Louis Léopold Boilly marked his era as one of the few to master trompe l'oeil in oil on canvas. His posterity is not great today with the general public, but his work is remarkable and much appreciated by collectors.