Saint Clare receives her sister by Boutet de Monvel

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Saint Clare Receives Her Sister (1896). Louis-Maurice Boutet de Monvel. Pen and black ink

Louis-Maurice Boutet de Monvel was a French painter and illustrator renowned for his influential contribution to nineteenth-century children’s book illustration. Born in Orléans into an intellectually and artistically distinguished family, he began his formal training at the École des Beaux-Arts and later at the Académie Julian, studying under Gustave Boulanger and Jules Lefèbvre. 

After serving in the Franco-Prussian War, he returned to artistic life and developed a refined, clear visual language known for its elegance, emotional subtlety, and purposeful simplicity. His illustrations, celebrated for their balance of narrative clarity and visual restraint, earned him recognition alongside major illustrators such as Kate Greenaway and Randolph Caldecott. After his death in 1913, several retrospectives reaffirmed his place as one of the master illustrators of the era.

This illustration depicts the deeply emotional moment in the life of Saint Clare of Assisi when her younger sister Agnes of Assisi fled their noble family to join her at the monastery of San Damiano. The scene captures the precise instant of Agnes’ arrival: she rushes forward in a richly embroidered dress, kneeling and collapsing tenderly at Clare’s feet. Clare bends toward her, lovingly placing her hands at the back of Agnes’ head, offering both welcome and protection. Agnes, in turn, reaches upward toward Clare’s shoulders, visually expressing the intensity of her decision and their shared devotion.

In the background, a crowd of villagers and relatives — historically recorded to have attempted to reclaim Agnes by force — are shown entering the cloister in pursuit, heightening the drama. Their presence recalls the miracle associated with this event: when Agnes’ family attempted to drag her away, her body became suddenly and impossibly heavy, so that they could not move her, a divine sign affirming her vocation. Several nuns witness the arrival with gestures of surprise and concern, emphasizing how this moment marked the true beginning of the Poor Clares, the women’s branch of the Franciscan movement. Boutet de Monvel’s elegant, narrative clarity allows the entire scene to unfold with gentle solemnity, emotional immediacy, and grace. Source: Sotheby's

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This original image is in the public domain, however, the file now offered is a manually restored version of this artwork, in a higher resolution. Manually restoration was necessary in order to improve quality, without covering the original image. Imperfections due to historical aging of the source may still be present.