Louis Philippe Boitard (1712-1758) is best known for his designs of satirical prints, book illustrations, and portraits. The son of French designer and engraver Francis Boitard (1667-1719), from whom he most likely learned engraving techniques, Boitard was initially thought to be a Frenchman who emigrated to London in the 1730s. Recent scholarship however suggests that his roots in London were long established, as he was baptised in 1712 at St. Mary-le-Bow. Having worked in Paris for the King of France, by 1742, Boitard ultimately returned to London and settled there. Particularly interested in satirical social subject matter, Boitard produced numerous studies of London street life, focusing primarily on poor men and women, frequently intoxicated or asleep.

This drawing depicts a seated woman with a tankard, likely drawn from the streets of Covent Garden. By drawing identifiable people, Boitard lent a sense of particularity to his figures. It is likely Boitard was able to capture his subjects with such immediacy because of his own poverty-stricken circumstances at this stage of his career, as he spent much time on the streets with such characters. His concise use of line in this drawing points to his training as an engraver. The majority of the artist’s known drawings, including this one as well as two currently in The Courtauld Gallery’s collection (D.1952.RW.3362 and D.1952.RW.3471), were part of an album containing sixty-five sheets whose contents were broken up and dispersed between 1943 and 1960. A selection of the drawings from the album are related to Boitard’s 1747 engraving, The Covent Garden Morning Frolick (in the British Museum). This satire on urban life in London depicts a group of night revellers making their way through a crowd of market traders in Covent Garden during the early morning hours. A strong example of a genre of art focusing on interactions between rich and poor, this print recalls what is perhaps the best-known instance of this category: Morning, Hogarth’s 1738 engraving of a lady passing market girls and beggars on her way to church. This scene of contrasts embodies mid-eighteenth-century Covent Garden, whose flower and vegetable markets surrounded both the heart of London’s cultural sphere of art and theatre and a hotbed of urban debauchery.

Louis Philippe Boitard (1712-1758) is best known for his designs of satirical prints, book illustrations, and portraits. The son of French designer and engraver Francis Boitard (1667-1719), from whom he most likely learned engraving techniques, Boitard was initially thought to be a Frenchman who emigrated to London in the 1730s. Recent scholarship however suggests that his roots in London were long established as he was baptised in 1712 at St. Mary-le-Bow. Having worked in Paris for the King of France, by 1742, Boitard ultimately returned to London and settled there. Particularly interested in satirical social subject matter, Boitard produced numerous studies of London street life, focusing primarily on poor men and women, frequently intoxicated or asleep. This drawing depicts a seated woman with a tankard, likely drawn from the streets of Covent Garden. By drawing identifiable people, Boitard lent a sense of particularity to his figures. It is likely Boitard was able to capture his subjects with such immediacy because the artist’s own poverty-stricken circumstances at this stage of his career, as he spent much time on the streets with such characters. His concise use of line in this drawing points to his training as an engraver. The majority of the artist’s known drawings, including this one as well as two currently in the Courtauld Gallery’s collection (D.1952.RW.3362 and D.1952.RW.3471), were part of an album containing sixty-five sheets whose contents were broken up and dispersed between 1943 and 1960. A selection of the drawings from the album are related to Boitard’s 1747 engraving, The Covent Garden Morning Frolick (in the British Museum). This satire on urban life in London depicts a group of night revellers making their way through a crowd of market traders in Covent Garden during the early morning hours. A strong example of a genre of art focusing on interactions between rich and poor, this print recalls what is perhaps the best-known instance of this category: Morning, Hogarth’s 1738 engraving of a lady passing market girls and beggars on her way to church. This scene of contrasts embodies mid-eighteenth-century Covent Garden, whose flower and vegetable markets surrounded both the heart of London’s cultural sphere of art and theatre and a hotbed of urban debauchery.

John Bowles (1702?-1779) (owned as part of an album); by descent to his daughter, Margaret Bowles; by descent to her son-in-law, Ponsonby Shaw (1784-1871); Colnaghi (London); purchased there by Leonard Duke (1889-1971) by 1940 (album broken up between 1943 and 1960); purchased from him by Spink (London); William Drummond, until 2016; purchased from him by Lowell Libson and Jonny Yarker Ltd. Gallery (London); purchased there by The Spooner Trust; gift to the Samuel Courtauld Trust, 2018

William, Iolo A., Early English Watercolours, London: The Connoisseur, 1952
p. 20

Watermark: Watermark: none.

Inscription: Recto: right upper edge, graphite, unclear: "M 7[?]"; lower right corner, graphite, indistinct: "8[?]". Verso: upper centre, graphite, circled: “18/” over “28”. Support, Recto: lower right edge, graphite: “Boitard”. Mount (modern), Verso of front cover: upper left corner, graphite: “51238-D”. Mount (modern), Recto of back cover: centre, graphite: “Boitard / Seated woman”; lower right edge, black ink: “SOLD” written over “£6400” beside a graphite “R” and black ink “83”.

Collector's mark: none.