The illustrator François Boitard described himself as a student of Raymond Lafage, and if this information is true, it seems likely that the artist was from Toulouse, where had Lafage between 1683-84 students. Boitard specialized in biblical and classical themes and also designed book illustrations.

His biography is characterized by a certain restlessness because Boitard was working in several countries after his early years in France. He stayed at the end of the 1680s some time in Rome, where he worked for the ancient world, and tried his luck in 1709 in London. 1710 we see the artist in Amsterdam, where he was in contact with Pieter Schenck. Apparently Boitard painted not just lofty religious subjects...