Blue tulip: an artistic adventure with painter François Joseph Kinsoen and his niece Adèle

Abstract

In this charming memoire buoyed with significant historical research, Posey Boicourt (Blue Tulip) explores the forgotten world of a portrait painter from whom she is a direct descendent. Francois Joseph Kinsoen left Bruges to seek work in Paris after the French Revolution where he rose in the burgeoning ranks of portraitists of the period to paint high society, military leaders, members of Napoleon's family, royalty of France, the Netherlands, and Belgium, and his own family. His niece Adele (Posey's great-great-grandmother), featured on the cover of the book, lived with her aunt and uncle at the height of her uncle's career before immigrating to Chicago in 1848. While investigating the painter's turf, the author assumes a new identity, writing home to friends and family as the Blue Tulip who tries to bridge the two worlds. Her book is studded with original black & white drawings and dozens of Kinsoen's beautiful paintings in full color. It includes a Portfolio Section containing individual essays on fourteen selected works.