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
Far from home	1867	oil,canvas
Far from home	1874	oil,canvas
Far Niente	1904	oil,canvas
Favorite flower	1895	oil,canvas
Fisher Girl		oil,canvas
Fishing	1855	oil,canvas
Flagellation of Our Lord Jesus Christ	1880	oil,canvas
The Frugal Meal	1898	canvas,oil
Girl bouquet	1896	oil,canvas
Girl Holding Lemons	1899	oil,canvas
On Greve	1896	oil,canvas
On the rock		canvas,oil
Ora Pro Nobis	1903	oil
Orestes Pursued by the Furies	c.1862	oil,canvas
Orphan Girl at a Fountain	1883	canvas,oil
Our Lady of the Angels
Pandora		oil,canvas
Parure des Champs	1884	oil,canvas
Passage gue		oil,canvas
Petite Fille Au Bol Bleu
The Broken Pitcher	1891	oil,canvas
The Bunch Of Grapes	1868	oil,canvas
The Butterfly	1893	oil,canvas
The Charity	1859	oil,canvas
The Cherry Branch		canvas,oil
The chilly	1879	oil,canvas
The Chilly Girl		canvas,oil
The Chilly Girl		canvas,oil
The Countess de Montholon		oil,canvas
The Crab	1869	oil,canvas
Une petite fille	1886
Une vocation
[Unkown]		oil,canvas
[Unkown]	1889	canvas,oil
Unwinding machine	1877	canvas,oil
Virgin Comforter	1875	oil,canvas
Vocation	1896	oil,canvas
Washerwomen of Fouesnant	1869	oil,canvas
Water Carrier		canvas,oil
Wave	1896	oil,canvas
A Bacchante
A Childhood Idyll	1900	oil,canvas
Adolphus Child And Teen	1878	oil,canvas
Adornment fields
After the Bath	c.1894	oil,canvas
Girl with a Pomegranate	1875	canvas,oil
Girl with Grapes	1875	oil,canvas
Girl with Grapes	1904	canvas,oil
Glaneuse	1894	canvas,oil
Gleaners	1894	oil,canvas
Going to the Bath		canvas,oil
Gypsy Girl with a Basque Drum	1867	oil,canvas
Half Length Figure	1850	canvas,oil
Harvester	1875	oil,canvas
Harvest of Hazelnuts	1883	canvas,oil
The muse	1861	canvas,oil
Pieta	1876	oil,canvas
Pifferaro	1870	canvas,oil
Italian piper	1874	canvas,oil
Pleasant Burden	1895	oil,canvas
Plums	c.1896	oil,canvas
Portrait de Fernand Bartholoni		oil,canvas
Portrait of a Girl	1865	canvas,oil
Portrait of a Man	1850	canvas,oil
Portrait of a muse		oil,canvas
The Crossing of the Ford		canvas,oil
The Cup of Milk		canvas,oil
The Curtsey	1898	oil,canvas
The Dance	1856	oil,canvas
The Dressmaker
The dressmaker	1898	oil,canvas
The Dropper in the Fields		oil,canvas
The Elder Sister	1869	oil,canvas
The elder sister	1886	oil,canvas
The Elder Sister, reduction	c.1864	canvas,oil
Woman and child		oil,paper,canvas
Woman of Cervara and her child	1861	oil,canvas
Woman with Iris	1896	canvas,oil
Woman with Shell	1885	oil,canvas
Work Interrupted	1891	oil,canvas
Young Bohemians
Girl with a Child	1877	canvas,oil
Young Girl Defending Herself Against Eros	1880	oil,canvas
Young Girl Sewing		canvas,oil
Young Girls of Fouesnant Returning from the Market		canvas,oil
After the Bath	1875	oil,canvas
A Little Coaxing	1890	oil,canvas
A Little Girl	1886	canvas,oil
A Little Shepherdess	1891
Alma Parens	1883	canvas,oil
Alone in the world	1867	oil,canvas
A moment of rest	1900	oil,canvas
A Portrait of Amelina Dufaud	1850	oil,canvas
A Portrait of Eugene Bouguereau	1850	oil,canvas
A Portrait Of Genevieve Bouguereau		oil,canvas
Hay-Maker	1870	canvas,oil
Head Of A Little Girl	1888	oil,canvas
Head of an Italian girl with a laurel wreath	1872	oil,canvas
Head of a Young Girl	1890	canvas,oil
Head Of A Young Girl	1898	oil,canvas
Head study	c.1898	oil,canvas
Head Study of Female Face Blonde	1898	oil,canvas
Head Study of Female Face Blonde	1898	oil,canvas
Her First Jewels	1891	oil,canvas
Homer and his Guide	1874	oil,canvas
Portrait of a young gir	1896	canvas,oil
Portrait of a Young Girl		oil,canvas
Portrait of a Young Girl		oil,canvas
Portrait of a young girl	c.1896	oil,canvas
Portrait of a Young Girl	1898	canvas,oil
Portrait of a Young Girl Crocheting	1889	oil,canvas
Portrait of a young roman woman		oil,canvas
Portrait of Gabrielle Cot	1890	oil,canvas
Portrait of Genevieve Celine	1850	oil,canvas
Portrait of Léonie Bouguereau	1850	oil,canvas
The Fair Spinner
The First Mourning	1888	oil,canvas
The Fisher
The Flower Seller	c.1902	canvas,oil
The Flute Lesson	1868	canvas,oil
The Ford	1895	canvas,oil
The Goose Girl	1891	oil,canvas
The hard lesson	1884	oil,canvas
The Harvester	1868	canvas,oil
The Heart's Awakening	1892	oil,canvas
Young Girl with a Jug	1885	oil,canvas
Young Mother Gazing At Her Child	1871	oil,canvas
Young Shepherdess	1868	oil,canvas
Young Shepherdess Standing	1887	oil,canvas
Young Woman Contemplating Two Embracing Children	1861	oil,canvas
Young Worker	1869	oil,canvas
Youth	1893	oil,canvas
Youth and Love	1877	oil,canvas
Yvonette	1867	oil,canvas
Yvonne	1896	oil,canvas
A Portrait Of Lonie Bouguereau		oil,canvas
Apples	1897	oil,canvas
Arion on a Sea Horse and Bacchante on a Panther (pair)	1855	canvas,oil
Art and Literature	c.1867	oil,canvas
Assault	1898	oil,canvas
A standing woman		graphite,chalk
At the Edge of the Brook	1875	oil,canvas
At the Edge of the Brook	1879	oil,canvas
At The Fountain	1897	oil,canvas
At the Seaside	1903	canvas,oil
Innocence
Innocence
Innocence		oil,canvas
Innocence	1873	oil,canvas
Innocence	1891	oil,canvas
In Penitence	1895	oil,canvas
Inspiration	1898	oil,canvas
Integrity	1876	oil,canvas
Irene	1897	oil,canvas
Portrait of Madame Olry Roederer	1900	oil,canvas
Portrait of Marie-Célina Brieu	1846	oil,canvas
Portrait of Miss Elizabeth Gardner	1879	oil,canvas
Portrait of Mlle Brissac	1863	oil,canvas
Portrait of Monsieur M.	1850
Prayer	1878	oil,canvas
Prayer at Sainte Anne d'Auray	1869	oil,canvas
Prayer to The Virgin	1866	oil,canvas
Young Priestess	1902	oil,canvas
Psyche	1892	oil,canvas
The Holy Family	1863
The Holy Women at the Tomb		oil,canvas
The Italian tambourine		oil,canvas
The Jewel of the Fields	1884	canvas,oil
The Kiss	1863	oil,canvas
The Knitter		canvas,oil
The Knitter	1884	oil,canvas
The Knitting Girl	1869	oil,canvas
The Little Beggar	1880	oil,canvas
The Little Hug	1878	canvas,oil
Yvonne	1896	oil,canvas
Yvonne on the doorstep	1901	oil
Zenobia found by shepherds on the banks of the Araxes	1850	oil,brass
A Young Girl in Profile	1881	canvas,oil
A young woman in Breton costume, kneeling		graphite,paper
A Young Woman with a Fan		oil,canvas
Bacchante	1894	oil,canvas
Bacchante	1899	oil,canvas
Bacchante on a Panther
Back Fields	1898	oil,canvas
Baigneuse	1870	oil,canvas
Bather		oil,canvas
Bather	1864	canvas,oil
Irène	1897	canvas,oil
Italian Boy with Mandolin	1870	canvas,oil
Italian Girl Drawing Water	1871	oil,canvas
Italian lovers		oil,canvas
Italian peasant family		graphite
Italian Woman with Tambourine	1869	oil,canvas
Italian girl at the fountain	1870
Jacob receiving Joseph's bloody coat	1845	oil,canvas
Jeannie	1868	canvas,oil
Joueur de Flute	1878	canvas,oil
Psyche and Amour	1889	oil,canvas
Raising Her Up	1865	canvas,oil
Raspberry Girl	1890	canvas,oil
Reclining Nude
Recollection	1894	canvas,oil
Reflection		oil,canvas
Reflection	1898	canvas,oil
Reflection	1898	canvas,oil
Reflexion	1897	oil,canvas
Rest in Harvest	c.1865
The Little Knitter		canvas,oil
The Little Knitter	1875	oil,canvas
The Little Knitter	1882	oil,canvas
The Little Knitter	1884	canvas,oil
The Little Knitter	1891	canvas,oil
The Little Marauder	1900	oil,canvas
The Madonna of the Lilies	1899	oil,canvas
The Madonna of the Roses	1903	oil,canvas
The Mischievous One	1895	canvas,oil
The Motherland	1883	oil,canvas
Beaut Romane	1904	oil,canvas
Before the bath	1891	oil,canvas
Before The Bath	1900	oil,canvas
Berceuse	1875	oil,canvas
Between wealth and love	1869	canvas,oil
Biblis	c.1884	oil,canvas
Blessures D'Amore	1897	canvas,oil
Branche de Laurier	1900	oil,canvas
Breton Brother and Sister	1871	oil,canvas
Breton Knitter	1871	canvas,oil
Knitting machine	1879	oil,canvas
Knitting machine	1884	oil,canvas
La Bourrique	1884	canvas,oil
Lady Maxwell	1890	oil,canvas
Lady with Glove	1870	oil,canvas
The Lambs	1897	oil,canvas
Laurel Branch	1900	canvas,oil
Le Bouquet de Violettes	1870	canvas,oil
Snack In The Fields	1891; France	oil,canvas
Le Livre d'Heures	1867	canvas,oil
Return from the Harvest	c.1878	oil,canvas
Reverie		oil,canvas
Reverie	1894	oil,canvas
Reverie on the Threshold	1893	canvas,oil
Roman Charity		oil,canvas
Rustic toilet	1869	oil,canvas
Holy family	1863	oil,canvas
Saint Louis Bringing the Holy Crown to Paris		pencil,watercolor
Saint Louis Dispensing Justice; Saint Louis Made Prisoner at Mansourah and Faith, Hope and Charity		oil,gouache,chalk
Seated Nude	1884	oil,canvas
The Nut Gatherers	1882	oil,canvas
The Nymphaeum	1878	oil,canvas
The Oranges	1865	canvas,oil
The Palm Leaf		oil,canvas
The Pastoral Recreation	1868	oil,canvas
The Pearl	1894	canvas,oil
The Plums	1900	oil
The Pomegranate Seller	1875	canvas,oil
The Prayer	1865	oil,canvas
Brother and Sister	1887	oil,canvas
Canéphore	1852	canvas,oil
Charity	c.1878	oil,canvas
Charity or The Indigent Family	1865	oil,canvas
Child Braiding A Crown	1874	oil,canvas
Child Holding Flowers		canvas,oil
Children With the Lamb	1879
Church interior		watercolor,paper
Church interior	1831	watercolor,paper
Compassion	1897	oil,canvas
Lemon	1899	canvas,oil
Les Enfants a L'Agneau	1879	canvas,oil
L'etoile lost	1884	oil,canvas
Leveil Heart	1892	oil,canvas
Le voeu	c.1867	canvas,oil
Idyll	1850	oil,canvas
Little beggar	1890	oil,canvas
Little Esmeralda	1874	oil,canvas
Little girl holding apples in her hand	1895	canvas,oil
Little Girl's Head (head with Hands)		canvas,oil
Self-Portrait Presented To M. Sage	1886	oil,canvas
Shepherdess	1889	oil,canvas
Shepherd's family		pencil,paper
Sketch for Night
Sketch of a Young Woman		oil,canvas
Sleep	1864	oil,canvas
Sleeping children	1868	oil,canvas
Small marauding	c.1872	oil,canvas
Songs of Spring	1889	canvas,oil
Soul Carried to Heaven	c.1878	oil,canvas
The Prisoner	1891	canvas,oil
The Proposal	1872
The Reading Girl	1895	canvas,oil
The Reaper	1872	canvas,oil
The Return of Spring	c.1886	oil,canvas
The return of the market	1869	oil,canvas
The Secret	c.1876	oil,canvas
The serious	1905	oil,canvas
The Shell	1871	oil,canvas
The Shepherdes	1895	oil,canvas
Longing	1863	canvas,oil
Crossing the Stream	1903	oil,canvas
Cupid and Psyche	1875	oil,canvas
Cupid and Psyche	1889	oil,canvas
Cupid flying over water		oil,canvas
Cupidon	1891	oil,canvas
Cupid on a sea monster	c.1857
Cupid’s Secrets		oil,canvas
Cupid with Butterfly	1888	oil,canvas
Cupid with Thorn	1894	oil,canvas
Little Girl with a Blue Bowl	1879	canvas,oil
Little Marauders	1872	canvas,oil
Little sulky	1871	oil,canvas
Little sulky	1888	oil,canvas
Love and Psyche	1899	oil,canvas
Love Disarmed	1885	oil,canvas
Love in the repo	1904	oil,canvas
Love on the Look	1891	oil,canvas
Love`s Scerets	1896	oil,canvas
Soup	1865	oil,canvas
Standing man, presumed study for one of the monks of 'Saint Louis bringing the crown
St John the Baptist as a Child	1884	canvas,oil
Story Book
Study for Vierge aux anges		oil,canvas
Study of a rowing man		pencil,paper
Study of a Seated Veiled Female Figure
The Shepherdess	1873	oil,canvas
The Shepherdess	1881	canvas,oil
The Shepherdess	1895	oil,canvas
The Snack	c.1895	oil,canvas
The Snack	1901	canvas,oil
The Song of the Nightingale	1895	oil,canvas
The Song of the Nightingale	1895	canvas,oil
The Spinner	1873	oil,canvas
The Storm	1874	canvas,oil
The Summer		oil,canvas
Daisies	1894	oil,canvas
Dante and Virgil	1850	oil,canvas
Daughter of Fisherman	1872	oil
Dawn	1881	oil,canvas
Day	1884	oil,canvas
Daydreaming	1899	oil,canvas
Dévideuse
Disdain	1850	canvas,oil
Drawing of a Woman
Dream of Spring	1901	oil,canvas
Love takes off	1901	oil,canvas
Lullaby (Bedtime)	1873	oil,canvas
Marguerite	1868	oil,canvas
Marguerite	1903	oil,canvas
Mars		pencil,paper
Maternal Admiration	1869	oil,canvas
Maternal Admiration - The Bath	1869	canvas,oil
Meditation	1885	oil,canvas
Mignon	1869	oil,canvas
Study of a Woman		pastel,paper
Study Of A Woman For Offering To Love	1890	oil,canvas
Study of a Young Girl s Head	1860 - c.1870
Study of faces after the antique
Study of the Head of Elize	1895 - 1896	oil,canvas
Study of the Homѐre dog and its leader		oil,canvas
Teen and Children	1895	oil,canvas
Temptation	1880
Tender Thoughts	1901	canvas,oil
The Abbot Hontonx		oil,canvas
The Taste of the Fields		canvas,oil
The Thank Offering	1867	oil,canvas
The Toilet of Venus	1873	canvas,oil
The Two Sisters	1877	oil,canvas
The Veil	1898	oil,canvas
The Virgin, Jesus and Saint John Baptist	1875	oil,canvas
The Virgin, Jesus and Saint John Baptist	1881	oil,canvas
The Virgin Lamb	1903	oil,canvas
Regina Angelorum	c.1900	oil,canvas
The Virgin with Angels	1881	oil
During the Storm
Egyptian Fellah Girl	1876	oil,canvas
Elegy	1899	oil,canvas
Elpieglerie	1895	oil,canvas
Enfantfleurs	1878
Equality before Death	1848; France	oil,canvas
Face of a woman in profile, presumed study for 'The First Discord		oil,canvas
Family Time
Faneuse	1869	oil,canvas
Milk Soup	1880	canvas,oil
Mimosa	1899	canvas,oil
Modesty	1902	oil,canvas
Moissoneuse	1868	oil,canvas
Morning Breakfast	1887	canvas,oil
Mother and Children	1879	oil,canvas
Night	1883	oil,canvas
Not too Much to Carry	1895	oil,canvas
Nymphs and Satyr	c.1873	oil,canvas
The Abduction of Psyche	c.1895	oil,canvas
The abduction of Psyche
The Annunciation		oil,canvas
The Archangel Saint Michael, wearing a plumed helmet with the colors of Austria		oil,canvas
The aurora		pencil,paper
The Awakening	1865	canvas,oil
The Bather	1879	oil,canvas
The Big Sister	1877
The bird	1867	oil,canvas
The Bohemian	1890	oil,canvas
The Wasp's Nest	1892	canvas,oil
The Water Girl (Young Girl Going to the Spring)	1885	oil,canvas
The younger brother	1900	oil,canvas
The younger brother	1902	oil,canvas
The Young Shepherdess	1885	oil,canvas
The Youth of Bacchus	1884	oil,canvas
Thirst	1886	oil,canvas
Tobias Receives his Father's Blessing	1860	oil,canvas
Two Sisters	1899	canvas,oil
Two Sisters	1901	oil,canvas
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