Rating and value of sculptures and paintings by Alfred Boucher
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Cote et valeur de l'artiste Alfred Boucher
Alfred Boucher is the founder of La Ruche in Paris. His legacy consists of paintings and sculptures. Today, prices for his works are skyrocketing under auctioneers' gavels.
His works are particularly prized by French and English buyers, and the price at which they sell on the art market ranges from €40 to €502,240, a considerable delta but one that speaks volumes about the value that can be attributed to Boucher's works.
In 2009, a marble piece, Nu, sold for €233,540, whereas its estimate was between €77,900 and €111,210. The artist's value is high, and varies according to the number of works on the auction market.
Order of value from a simple work to the most prestigious
Technique used | Results |
---|---|
Drawing - watercolor | From €100 to €700 |
Oil on canvas | From €50 to €11,000 |
Sculpture - volume | From €90 to €233,540 |
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Alfred Boucher's style and technique
Alfred Boucher's style and technique are part of an academic tradition that, while looking to the past, paves the way for a discreet yet assertive modernity.
Heir to the great sculptors of the 19th century, he shows a predilection for marble, which he works with virtuoso precision.
Soft lines and elegant forms reflect his quest for harmony, while light, subtly captured, emphasizes volumes and gives his works an inner life.
Influenced by Carpeaux and Dalouhis figures, though often academic in composition, stand out for their stripped simplicity and restrained emotion, revealing a more intimate sculptural language.
Boucher's modeling, precise but never rigid, conveys the fragility of flesh and the fluidity of drapery. He favors natural poses, where the serenity of attitudes reflects a quest for universal beauty.
This revisited classicism, far from theatrical exaggerations, is based on impeccable technique and a sensibility that rejects the spectacular in favor of contemplative art.
Through his work, Boucher establishes a subtle dialogue between tradition and innovation, inscribing his practice in a peaceful continuity marked by a quest for authenticity.
The life of Alfred Boucher
Born in 1850 in Bouy-sur-Orvin, a small village in the Aube region, Alfred Boucher grew up in a modest environment, his father working as a gardener.
From an early age, he showed an aptitude for drawing and modeling, a talent that soon attracted the attention of a local patron, who decided to finance his studies.
Boucher entered the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he trained under the great masters of academic sculpture.
His ability to render the subtleties of faces and bodies soon won him considerable recognition, notably when he won first prize at the Salon des Artistes Français in 1881.
The finesse of his works, combined with a profoundly human dimension, appealed to his contemporaries as much as to public and private clients.
A man deeply attached to his roots, Boucher divided his career between Paris and his native Nogent-sur-Seine, where he remained a lifelong benefactor to young artists.
In 1902, he founded the Maison des Artistes, a unique venue designed to welcome emerging talent, including Camille Claudel, whom he benevolently supported in her early years.
Admired for his busts, female figures and soberly classic compositions, he is also known for his integrity and commitment to accessible art.
Alfred Boucher, who died in 1934, remains a major figure in French sculpture, his work demonstrating a perfect balance between tradition and emotion, in the service of a timeless humanity.
Focus on La jeune fille à l'Atalante, Alfred Boucher (1890)
In La Jeune Fille à l'Atalante (1890), Alfred Boucher chose to embody, through sculpture, an ideal of grace and youth. His bust, both simple and profound, testifies to his ability to capture beauty in its purest form.
The girl's face, serene and reflective, seems to escape the contingency of the moment, as if suspended between two realities: that of marble and that of life.
The features are both realistic and idealized, suggesting the soul more than the body, and reflecting this search for a form of eternity.
The workmanship is remarkably fine. Every detail, from the shape of the face to the waves of the hair, is treated with a precision that goes beyond mere visual effect.
The artist doesn't just reproduce a face, he captures its essence, bringing the bust to life in an almost supernatural way.
Marble, the classic material par excellence, becomes here a support that transcends its coldness to reflect the softness and sensuality of the subject.
The work then seems more than a simple representation; it becomes a meditation on youth, timelessness and the idealization of the human body.
With this work, the artist goes beyond technique to offer a genuine aesthetic and emotional reflection, a perfect balance between form and meaning.
Alfred Boucher's imprint on his period
Alfred Boucher's imprint on his period is marked by a constant search for harmony and emotion in his sculptures. His mastery of marble and bronze enables him to make the material as fluid as the forms he depicts.
His technically refined style is distinguished by his ability to breathe life and movement into seemingly static figures.
Like the great classical sculptors, he exploits the material as a vehicle for expression, while maintaining a lightness of tone that contrasts with the academic rigor of his time.
His busts and sculptures of women and children, treated with exceptional delicacy, possess that rare quality of transcending mere representation to embody the very essence of his subjects.
But beyond his technical virtuosity, Boucher's imprint is also to be found in his influence on his contemporaries and the redefinition of sculptural standards.
His works embody a point of passage between the classical traditions of the 19th century and the avant-gardes that would emerge in the early 20th century.
The softness and sensuality emanating from his creations would continue to inspire subsequent generations, marking the passage from one era to another.
Alfred Boucher's stylistic influences
Alfred Boucher's stylistic influences are manifold, reflecting a perfect symbiosis of tradition and modernity.
Trained by the great masters of his time, such as Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux and Auguste RodinHe imbued himself with the principles of academic sculpture, while striving to go beyond its limits.
Ancient art, and in particular Greco-Roman sculpture, was a major reference for Boucher, who, while remaining faithful to idealized proportions, sought to infuse his figures with a more contemporary expressiveness.
But his eye was also drawn to the new artistic trends of his time: Auguste Rodin's sculptures in movement, the fine detail of realism and the first attempts at deconstructing forms at the beginning of the 20th century.
These influences, though perceptible in his treatment of materials, do not entirely define him.
In fact, what sets Boucher apart is his ability to draw on his influences while asserting his own voice, subtly blending modern expressiveness with classical rigor.
Through the purity of his lines and the sensuality of his figures, he stands out as an heir to the great masters, as well as being one of the precursors of modern sculpture.
Despite being less well known than sculptors such as Rodin or Bourdelle, his value is very high on the auction market. Particularly prized by French buyers, his neoclassical style combined with modern influences is very appealing to 20th-century sculpture enthusiasts.
Recognizing Alfred Boucher's signature
Alfred Boucher did not always sign his works. If you think you own one, it's best to have it appraised.
Knowing the value of a work
If you happen to own a painting by or after Alfred Boucher, don't hesitate to ask for a free estimate using the form on our website.
A member of our team of experts and certified auctioneers will contact you promptly to provide you with an estimate of the market value of your work, as well as any relevant information about it.
If you're thinking of selling your work of art, our specialists will also be on hand to help you find alternatives for selling it at the best possible price, taking market trends into account.
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