William-Adolphe Bouguereau was a French literary painter born in La Rochelle, France, on 30 November 1825. Bouguereau was raised in a strict home as a devout catholic. In 1837, he went to live with his uncle Eugene, a Catholic priest, and this was when he fell in love with religion, art, and literature. William trained at the Municipal School of Drawing and Painting in 1841.
Bouguereau saved up to finance a move to Paris in 1846, and he enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux Art, where he honed academic painting skills. William won the coveted Grand Prix de Rome in 1850, a prize that sponsored a study at the French Academy in Rome.
Bouguereau focused on literary, historical, and classical paintings. His paintings were exhibited at the Paris Salon throughout his career. William moved back to his hometown, La Rochelle, after his spell in Italy. In the 1870s & 1880s, Bouguereau took up more personal portraits and excelled in this career. William-Adolphe Bouguereau worked on eight hundred and twenty-two known paintings. Bouguereau died on 19 August 1905, in La Rochelle, at eighty.
What was William-Adolphe Bouguereau Known For?
William Adolphe Bouguereau was known for his academic painting styles. His classical paintings mainly featured historical and religious figures. Bouguereau also produced art on a commercial scale, favoring a sentimental approach to the depiction of the human form.
Who was William-Adolphe Bouguereau Influenced By?
William-Adolphe Bouguereau was influenced by Francois Picot, whose studio he trained at in Paris. Other influences include Louis Sage and Charles Marionneau, a local artist he met before his time at the Municipal School.
What Art Movement was William-Adolphe Bouguereau Associated With?
William-Adolphe Bouguereau was associated with the Realism Art movement. Bouguereau’s works are related to the academic art style, owing to his training at the Ecole des Beaux Art.
William-Adolphe Bouguereau’s Artwork
Below are some of the artworks of William-Adolphe Bouguereau.
Study of a woman
Snack in the fields
The frugal meal
Sheep herder
Disdain
The storybook
Young priestess
Little Esmeralda
Milk soup
Pieta
Little girl with pomegranate
The virgin of consolation
Little thieves
The virgin and angels
The abduction of psyche
Cupid with a butterfly
Charity
Young gypsies
The motherland
At the edge of the brook
Cupid and psyche as children
Nymphs and Satyr
The little beggar
All William-Adolphe Bouguereau Artwork on Artchive
| Artwork Name | Year | Medium |
|---|---|---|
| Waiting (Lattente) | 1902 | Oil on Canvas |
| Evening Mood | c.1882 | Oil on Canvas |
| Child at Bath | c.1886 | Oil on Canvas |
| The Birth of Venus | 1879 | Oil on Canvas |
| The Bathers | 1884 | Oil on Canvas |
| Admiration | 1897 | Oil on Canvas |
| Fraternal Love | c.1851 | Oil on Canvas |
| Meditation | 1885 | Oil on Canvas |
| Self-portrait | 1879 | Oil on Canvas |
| Le jour des morts (All Saints' Day) | 1859 | Oil on Canvas |
| Portrait of Madame la Comtesse de Cambaceres | 1895 | Oil on Canvas |
| Song of the Angels | 1881 | Oil on Canvas |
| Virgin and Child | 1888 | Oil on Canvas |
