William Bouguereau

 Forgotten Modern Master Painter

William Bouguereau (November 30, 1825 - August 19, 1905) was a popular nineteenth-century French painter often overlooked in modern studies of art.

Bouguereau's training in the Academic style of art began with Classical and Biblical subjects under the tutelage of his uncle Eugne, a parish priest, who arranged for him to study further. Had he not shown artistic talent, he might have gone into his family's business to become a merchant of wine and olive oil. Instead, among his first jobs were painting portraits of his uncle's parishioners and designing labels for jars of preserves and jams, the money from which helped fund his education at the cole des Beaux-Arts. During his career, his works were exhibited annually at the Paris Salon, which was at that time considered the greatest art event in the world.

In addition to Classical themes based on Greek or Roman mythology, and religious themes based on the Bible or Catholic Tradition, Bouguereau's works included more contemporary pastoral themes that would not have seemed unfamiliar to someone living in rural France in the nineteenth century. Many of his paintings feature women, and some of his paintings feature full or partial nudity.

Not everyone appreciated Bouguereau's style. Some thought the subjects of his pastoral works were too beautiful and clean. Some thought his technique was too traditional to be relevant to the artistic philosophy of his day. It may be that influential critics are at least partly responsible for his relative anonymity in today's art world. As the Impressionist style gained acceptance, Bouguereau fell into disfavor with the public, not even being worthy of mention as a short entry in an encyclopedia. But today, his works are gaining acceptance again; over one hundred museums exhibit his works worldwide.