His full name must be used to identify him since there was also
his son, the painter Bernard Boutet de Monvel, whose style owed
much to Maurice, and the writer Roger Boutet de Monvel who also
could have been a son or a nephew. Maurice, aka Louis-Maurice,
was the most popular French illustrator of the late nineteenth
century and this drawing, which appeared as the lead article in
Century Magazine for October 1896, has been an inspiration for
more than a few illustrators of childrens' books. Click to
enlarge the drawing and note his wonderful technique. It's from
the lead article in Century Magazine for October 1896 entitled
"About French Children" and depicts "a French mother and
daughter hastening from class to class." Maurice was born in
Orléans, France, precisely in mid-century. His father had a
distinguished musical career creating tenor parts for the
composers Rossini and Meyerbeer; his grandfather a captain of
engineers in the French army which fought on behalf of the
colonists in our Revolutionary War;