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William Bouguereau
The Greatest French, Academic Romantic Painter of All Time
1825-1905
Artistically Influenced by the Following Painters and Art Movements - Raphael, Michelangelo, Rembrandt and Titian
Education -Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France
William Bouguereau Biography
Adolphe-William Bouguereau was born in the picturesque French village of La Rochelle in 1825. His families financial problems and hardships forced young William to work at a variety of jobs while attending the prestiguous Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Often friends would spy the the worn-out painter toiling away all night on a painting and then without even an hour of sleep go to work at the local wine merchant shop and work another 10 hours. The artist once declared "Each day I go to my studio full of joy; in the evening when obliged to stop because of darkness I can scarcely wait for the morning to come...My work is not only a pleasure, it has become a necessity. No matter how many other things I have in my life, if I cannot give myself to my dear painting I am miserable." At the age of 26, Adolphe-William Bouguereau was awarded the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1851 with his magnificent romantic masterpiece Baudry.
William Bouguereau was well loved for his generosity and kind heart. He was always willing to help bright students and misguided youth. The painter stated "One has to seek Beauty and Truth, Sir! As I always say to my pupils, you have to work to the finish. There's only one kind of painting. It is the painting that presents the eye with perfection, the kind of beautiful and impeccable enamel you find in Veronese and Titian."
The models/prostitutes that he
employed referred to him as "Sweet Willie". " According to his
biographer, Mary Schell Hoke Bacon, "All Bouguereau's opportunities in
life were made by himself, by his own genius. No one gave him anything;
he earned all. He longed to go to Italy, and in the Ecole des Beaux-Arts
he won the Prix de Rome, which made possible a journey to the land of
great artists. The French Government began to buy his work, and he began
to receive commissions to decorate walls in great buildings; thus,
gradually, he made for himself fame and fortune."
Explanation of William Bouguereau French Academic Painting Style
William Bouguereau was heavily influenced by the uncompromising academic
standards set forth by the French Académie des Beaux-Arts. French Academic
Classicism endeavored to join together the
Neoclassicism and
Romanticism
styles into one perfect style. William Bouguereau observed, "When
will the day come when I can do something worthy of a grown man? How
many things must I yet learn before reaching that stage!"
The greatest painters associated with Academic Classicism, William Bouguereau, Paul Delaroche and Jean-Leon Gerome, had an extraordinary way of capturing nature's passionate, "feral" qualities and yet, at the same time, create in the viewer an almost inspirational feeling of harmony and serenity. High drama, blithe sophistication, and unrequited passion characterize this magnificent painting style.
Famous Painters of Academic Classicists Movement
Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky, 1817-1900
Adolphe-William Bouguereau1825-1905
Charles Emile August Carolus-Duran, 1837-1917
Leon Francois Comerre, 1850-1916
Pierre-Auguste Cot 1837-1883
Thomas Couture, 1815-1879
Paul Delaroche 1797-1856
Eugene Fromentin, 1820-1876
Jean Leon Gerome, 1824-1904
Jean-Paul Laurens1838-1921
Adolphe Alexandre Lesrel, 1839-1929
Luc Olivier Merson, 1846-1920
Hans Makart, 1840 - 1884
Giulio Rosati, 1858-1917
Franz Xavier Winterhalter, 1805-1873
William Clarke Wontner, 1857-1930
Key Descriptive Words
and Phrases associated with the
Academic Classicism Painting Style -
Classicism, rigid Academic standards, ancient Greece, Rome, Herculaneum,
Pompeii, neoclassicism, romantic movement, European academies, French
Académie des Beaux-Arts, Romanticism, academism, academicism, accademic
training, highly romantic, inspired by historical and mythological
stories, L'art pompier, the Grand Tour, eclecticism, classical realism,
historicism, 19th century, syncretism, academician, Victorian Classicism
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