Jean Boullaire (1893-1976) - Ariane / vers 1952

Wood engraving: "Ariane" by Jacques Boullaire (1893-1976): wood engraving. Limited edition, dedication, signed.
The engraving’s plate size: 23.5 × 16.5 cm, the engraving sheet: 33 × 25 cm. Large frame: 50 × 33.

Jacques Boullaire was a French draftsman, engraver and painter born December 20, 1893 in Paris and who died October 5, 1976 in the same city. He remains particularly famous for his literary illustration work and for his intimate works immortalizing French Polynesia.

Aviator pilot during World War I, he first worked four years in the advertising department of his brother-in-law Louis Renault’s car company.
Breakthrough in engraving: In 1926, tired of advertising, he devoted himself entirely to art and learned wood engraving from Guy Arnoux and Dimitrios Galanis.
In-demand illustrator: He quickly established himself in Parisian salons and illustrated major literary classics by authors such as Alfred de Musset, Balzac or Flaubert. Life’s destination: In 1936, he married the painter Anne Hervé, originally from Tahiti. The couple settled in the islands.