“For me a work of art must be an elevated interpretation of nature. The search for the ideal has been the purpose of my life. In landscape or seascape, I love above all the poetic motif.” William Adolphe Bouguereau
This exquisite portrait is the work of French academic great William Bouguereau
In the age that saw the birth of Impressionism, an emerging group of artists that began to see the world around them in new ways, William-Adolphe Bouguereau stood as one of the most influential and popular upholders of traditional Academic art values in his day. A student of the great classical painters, such as Jacques-Louis David and Jean-Dominique Ingres, Bouguereau possessed a remarkable talent for his craft. Along with his contemporary Alexandre Cabanel, Bouguereau dismissed the new Impressionist ideals in favor of the traditionalist methods of the old masters and valuing, above all else, the beautiful.
Deeply influenced by the classical tradition, Bouguereau is renowned for his portraits
The French Academy stood as a symbol of classical art, accepted motifs, and as an overwhelmingly unofficial mark of proper painting instruction. Seeped in motifs of the ancient classical past, the European tradition, and historical subjects, works accepted into the Academy embodied the utmost conservatism with their precise rendering of nature. Renowned artists such as Jacques-Louis David and Sir Joshua Reynolds peppered every corner of the exhibition walls of the Salon, conveying dynamic sincerity and clarity to their subjects and scenes.
The devotion to these earlier classical motifs in the works of William-Adolphe Bouguereau is undeniable. His extensive oeuvre paid tribute to the values of the French Academics: attention to beautiful detail, strict adherence to anatomy and perspective, and a high level of finish and clear meaning. By translating distinctly classical motifs in his own taste of peaceful, pastoral landscapes, Bouguereau not only succeeded in maintaining the French Academic tradition, but also in creating enduring compositions that directly spoke the personality and mood of his subjects. Highly admired by both the eye and the Academy, he consequently dominated the Salons of the Third Republic so consistently that the official Salon became known as ‘Le Salon Bouguereau.’
Signed “W-Bouguereau-1895” (lower right)
Like many artists, Bouguereau observed many of the same subjects, yet each of his work possesses subtle nuances that give them a personality distinctly their own. Throughout his long career, he consistently looked to his choice subject, adolescent peasant girls, who came to reflect an idealized window into a serene, pastoral world.
As a quintessential model for Bouguereau’s choice subject, this full-size portrait perfectly epitomizes the skill of Bouguereau’s hand. Set within an idealized outdoor landscape, Bouguereau infuses his work with tranquil simplicity. Dominating the work is a young peasant girl, leaning against rock and enveloped by the detailed foliage behind her. Smiling coyly outwards at the viewer, the girl’s delicate head bends slightly right in a movement of both admiration and observation. With this technique, Bouguereau almost allows a conversation between the viewer and the young girl, who engages the viewer with a coquettish charm.
The beautifully finished composition portrays a young shepherdess with a coy smile
In a talented display of photographic-realism, Bouguereau renders the young girl’s entire visage with the utmost amount of detailed accuracy. Fully anatomically precise, the soft bends of the girl’s arms and the luminescence of her skin expose Bouguereau’s genius for communicating human anatomy. The modest girl’s full skirt sits at her waist, topped by a purple sash that sweeps to her side, falling in ripples. The result of these exquisite details is an idyllic landscape that expresses beauty, purity, and hope.
Bouguereau’s work epitomizes the highest degree of taste and refinement, expressing every important hallmark of French Academic painting. Within this portrait, every ethos of Bouguereau’s career is present: his preferred idyllic subject, an unsurpassed degree of finish, luminous color, and remarkable attention to detail. Read more about the unsurpassed career of Bougeureau:
Expand your knowledge and admiration for the work of Bouguereau by exploring the careers and work of his contemporaries and students. Emilie Munier, for example, is regarded as one of the most important students of Bouguereau. While his portraits also show a homage to the same Academic techniques as his great master, Munier succeeded in creating language all his own that combined detailed, clear compositions with the vivaciousness of his own taste.