Bouguereau's depiction of children and pastoral subjects comprised the majority of his prolific oeuvre and largely established his reputation. Praised by his countrymen and comissioned, in part, by an American audience who in some instances would choose pictures by mail-order sketches, Bouguereau's fame was unequalled in his lifetime. His works commanded international interest and by the time of his death he had amassed an estate worth 7,000,000 French francs.

"La Fille d'Eau" exemplified the canons of "Pompier" art which were central to Bouguereau's work; in choosing to depict a young peasant girl Bouguereau celebrated the virtues of labor and the ignominy of poverty. The painting underscored Bouguereau's interest in creating a perfect harmony of composition through line and color--a lesson he had learned through his earlier studies of the Renaissance masters. Equally fascinated by the study of classical sculpture, the pose of the girl borrows from these ancient models its balance between the static and dynamic. Attention is paid to the precise rendering of costume and botany in order to create an image of a world far removed from the realities of 19th century industrial life. Bouguereau was known to sketch drapery, hands and even ankles until he felt he had understood the form properly; he would then incorporate these studies in his final paintings to achieve a sense of realism. This meticulous attention to detail is apparent in Bouguereau's treatment of the figure in "Fille d'Eau" to such great effect that the painting appears almost photographic.