Lot Essay
William Adolphe Bouguereau's name is synonomous with the Salon in the second half of the Nineteenth Century. As President of the Academy and Grand Officer of the Légion d'Honneur as well as recipient of numerous foreign honors, Bouguereau was one of the most highly decorated artists of the 19th century. A student of Francois Edouard Picot who had studied under David, Bouguereau debuted in the Salon of 1849 and continued to exhibit there until his death in 1905. In 1881 the French Government relinquished control of the annual Salon to the exhibitors and Bouguereau was elected president of the painting section; his control of the Salon was so extensive that some critics referred to it as "Bouguereau's Salon." His success made him a very wealthy man; born of modest means, he died with an estate of 7,000,000 francs. Bouguereau's paintings were actively collected both by the State and by an insatiable group of private collectors--many of whom were wealthy Americans who waited years to receive their commissions (even ordering them through "mail-order").
Bouguereau actively promoted the ideals of beauty and grace in his work. Working within the context of "appropriate" subject matter, the artist turned to classical mythology as a vehicle to display his talents as a colorist and draftsman. The controposto pose of his model in this work, suggests Bouguereau's study of ancient Greek sculpture and the application of the principals of static and dynamic forms. He was known to sketch models for hours at a time, to render a hand or foot correctly. No detail was overlooked in his work: from the way in which the drapery fell agaist the body to the naturalistic depiction of the thistle in the lower right of this composition, each element was painstakenly studied so that the final product bore a complete sense of verisimilitude. This sense of realism was furthered by the almost life-size depiction of the figure. Through the youth and beauty of the model, Bouguereau hoped to convey a message of purity and hope--ideals that were central to the dcotrine of Academic art.
Bouguereau actively promoted the ideals of beauty and grace in his work. Working within the context of "appropriate" subject matter, the artist turned to classical mythology as a vehicle to display his talents as a colorist and draftsman. The controposto pose of his model in this work, suggests Bouguereau's study of ancient Greek sculpture and the application of the principals of static and dynamic forms. He was known to sketch models for hours at a time, to render a hand or foot correctly. No detail was overlooked in his work: from the way in which the drapery fell agaist the body to the naturalistic depiction of the thistle in the lower right of this composition, each element was painstakenly studied so that the final product bore a complete sense of verisimilitude. This sense of realism was furthered by the almost life-size depiction of the figure. Through the youth and beauty of the model, Bouguereau hoped to convey a message of purity and hope--ideals that were central to the dcotrine of Academic art.