Louis Boulanger, Painter of Dreams

A close friend of the writer Victor Hugo, the French painter Louis Boulanger has been largely overshadowed by other artists of the Romantic period. An exhibition at Maisons Victor Hugo, Paris (10 November–5 March 2023), highlights the artist’s diverse contributions to the movement by bringing together more than 190 works including paintings, illustrations and theatrical costumes. Taking inspiration from the writings of Hugo and Alexandre Dumas, Boulanger’s early works are filled with literary references – including illustrations of scenes from The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1830) such as the melodramatic watercolour Claude Frollo and Esmerelda (c. 1831). In later years, he took inspiration for a number of paintings from the poetry of Petrarch, and worked on a large number of decorative and religious commissions. Find out more from Maisons Victor Hugo’s website.

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Orientale (n.d.), Louis Boulanger. Photo: © Maisons de Victor Hugo Paris-Guernesey Paris Musées

Heaven’s Fire (1832), Louis Boulanger. Maisons Victor Hugo Collection. © Maisons de Victor Hugo Paris-Guernesey Paris Musées

Claude Frollo and Esmeralda from Notre-Dame de Paris (c. 1831), Louis Boulanger. Photo: © Maisons de Victor Hugo Paris-Guernesey Paris Musées