Emile-Artus Boeswillwald 1873-1935

Born into a dynasty of architects of Alsatian origin, Émile-Artus Boeswillwald was the grandson of Émile Boeswillwald (1815–1896), who was himself a former collaborator of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc and successor to Prosper Mérimée as Inspector General of Historic Monuments. Émile-Artus Boeswillwald was introduced to drawing at an early age. Initially destined for a military career as an officer, he suffered a serious fall and developed a chronic bronchial illness, which forced him to abandon this path. Encouraged by his family’s artistic environment, he turned to painting and was admitted in 1895 to the École des Beaux-Arts, where he studied in the studio of Léon Bonnat.
That same year, he made his debut at the Salon des Artistes Français, where he achieved a measure of success as a portraitist. In 1901, he exhibited there a tender portrait of his young fiancée, Marguerite Geoffroy (cat. no. 218), herself descended from a family of sculptors as the daughter of Adolphe Geoffroy and the granddaughter of Victor Geoffroy-Dechaume. The pronounced intimacy of his work, influenced by the Spanish painting admired by his teacher, earned him several official distinctions. He was awarded the Medal of Honor at the Salon in 1905, followed by the Gold Medal in 1926, after which he was admitted hors concours.
Appointed a Knight of the Legion of Honor in 1928, he brought his distinguished official career to a close that same year with his appointment as professor of drawing at the École Polytechnique. His work, long overlooked, was the subject of a retrospective in 2004 at the Paul Dubois - Alfred Boucher Museum in Nogent-sur-Seine, the town where his family had settled.