The year 1887 was the last of Bouguereau's contract with Goupil, during which he painted two pictures depicting a tender moment between a sister and her brother: our picture, Frère et soeur and Allant au bain (Christie's, New York, May 25, 1989, lot 58). In Allant au bain, Bouguereau sets the figures in an extensive landscape wherein the child looks toward his sister whose gaze faces the viewer. However, in Frère et soeur, Bouguereau subtly changes the composition to enhance the psychological moment. He seals off the background with a plane of foliage that allows only a hint of sky to show through, thus emphasizing the figures, illuminated by an almost supernatural light, while it is the child now who faces us. Bouguereau's study of ancient statuary is evident in his depiction of the balance of the body as it carries weight. In Frère et soeur Bouguereau artfully applies the principles of static and dynamic forms to show the figure in motion. This poetic image celebrates both youth and beauty, and was intended to convey a message of purity and hope--ideals that "pompier" art sought. The naturalistic quality of the picture is achieved through Bouguereau's use of near life-size figures set in a realistic environment while the palette, with its chromatic richness and lapis lazuli blue for the skirt, recalls Raphael, whom Bouguereau is known to have admired.

Pictures such as Frère et soeur enhanced Bouguereau's reputation and helped the artist to attain numerous honors such as President of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and member of the Légion d'Honneur. As a result, his paintings became highly desirable amongst collectors, many of whom even came to order pictures through a catalogue-type system created by Bouguereau. Indeed, it has been said, that no American collection at the turn of the century would have been complete without one of his works.