Portrait of Adolphe-William Bouguereau

Adolphe-William Bouguereau Painting Reproductions Gallery 10 of 10

1825-1905

French Academic Classicism Painter

William-Adolphe Bouguereau (November 30, 1825 - August 19, 1905) was a French academic painter.

Bouguereau was born in La Rochelle.
A student at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, he won the Prix de Rome in 1850 and his realistic genre paintings and mythological themes were exhibited at the annual exhibitions of the Paris Salon for his entire working life. Although he fell into disregard in the early 20th century, due perhaps to his staunch opposition to the Impressionists, there is a new appreciation for his work. In his lifetime, Bouguereau painted eight hundred and twenty-six paintings.

In his own time, Bouguereau was considered to be one of the greatest painters in the world. In 1900, his contemporaries Degas and Monet reportedly named him as most likely to be remembered as the greatest 19th century French painter by the year 2000, although with Degas' famous trenchant wit, and the aesthetic tendencies of the two Impressionists, it is possible the statement was meant as an ironic comment on the taste of the future public. Bouguereau's works were eagerly bought, at high prices, especially by American millionaires. After about 1920, Bouguereau fell into disrepute. Some assert this may have been consciously engineered by the new "art expert establishment", who resented his former opposition to new developments in painting, but it is likely that more profound societal factors were instrumental to this enormous shift in taste and sensibility. For decades, his name was not even mentioned in encyclopedias. Today, over one hundred museums throughout the world exhibit his works.

At a rather advanced age, Bouguereau was married for the second time, to fellow artist Elizabeth Jane Gardner Bouguereau, one of his pupils. He also used his influence to open many French art institutions to women for the first time, including the Academie francaise.
He died in La Rochelle.

230 Bouguereau Paintings

Cain and Abel, 1861 by Bouguereau | Painting Reproduction

Cain and Abel 1861

Oil Painting
$2624
Canvas Print
$49.55
SKU: BWA-10283
Adolphe-William Bouguereau
Original Size: 196.2 x 150.5 cm
Private Collection

Difficult Lesson, 1880 by Bouguereau | Painting Reproduction

Difficult Lesson 1880

Oil Painting
$1635
Canvas Print
$57.54
SKU: BWA-10284
Adolphe-William Bouguereau
Original Size: 95.9 x 60.3 cm
Private Collection

Italian Child Holding a Crust of Bread, 1874 by Bouguereau | Painting Reproduction

Italian Child Holding a Crust of Bread 1874

Oil Painting
$1242
Canvas Print
$62.22
SKU: BWA-10285
Adolphe-William Bouguereau
Original Size: 54.5 x 46 cm
Private Collection

Little Esmeralda, 1874 by Bouguereau | Painting Reproduction

Little Esmeralda 1874

Oil Painting
$1773
Canvas Print
$55.26
SKU: BWA-10286
Adolphe-William Bouguereau
Original Size: 88.9 x 54.6 cm
Private Collection

The Oreads, 1902 by Bouguereau | Painting Reproduction

The Oreads 1902

Canvas Print
$56.79
SKU: BWA-10287
Adolphe-William Bouguereau
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection

Songs of Spring, 1889 by Bouguereau | Painting Reproduction

Songs of Spring 1889

Oil Painting
$2143
Canvas Print
$61.62
SKU: BWA-10288
Adolphe-William Bouguereau
Original Size: 148.6 x 99.7 cm
Private Collection

Innocence, 1873 by Bouguereau | Painting Reproduction

Innocence 1873

Oil Painting
$1468
Canvas Print
$92.90
SKU: BWA-11682
Adolphe-William Bouguereau
Original Size: 66.6 x 56.2 cm
Private Collection

Oranges, 1865 by Bouguereau | Painting Reproduction

Oranges 1865

Oil Painting
$2321
Canvas Print
$49.75
SKU: BWA-11683
Adolphe-William Bouguereau
Original Size: 117 x 90 cm
Private Collection

The Bacchante, 1862 by Bouguereau | Painting Reproduction

The Bacchante 1862

Oil Painting
$1590
Canvas Print
$49.55
SKU: BWA-13064
Adolphe-William Bouguereau
Original Size: unknown
Musee des Beaux Arts, Bordeaux, France

Night, 1883 by Bouguereau | Painting Reproduction

Night 1883

Oil Painting
$1803
Canvas Print
$49.55
SKU: BWA-17008
Adolphe-William Bouguereau
Original Size: 208.3 x 107.3 cm
Public Collection

Cupid Victorious, 1886 by Bouguereau | Painting Reproduction

Cupid Victorious 1886

Oil Painting
$1614
Canvas Print
$55.42
SKU: BWA-17010
Adolphe-William Bouguereau
Original Size: 164 x 122.5 cm
Private Collection

Girl with Grapes, 1874 by Bouguereau | Painting Reproduction

Girl with Grapes 1874

Oil Painting
$1588
SKU: BWA-17109
Adolphe-William Bouguereau
Original Size: 140 x 63 cm
New Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, Denmark

The Little Knitter, 1875 by Bouguereau | Painting Reproduction

The Little Knitter 1875

Oil Painting
$1874
SKU: BWA-17110
Adolphe-William Bouguereau
Original Size: 115 x 81 cm
Private Collection

Daughter of Fisherman, 1872 by Bouguereau | Painting Reproduction

Daughter of Fisherman 1872

Oil Painting
$2166
Canvas Print
$58.15
SKU: BWA-18981
Adolphe-William Bouguereau
Original Size: 116 x 87.5 cm
Fuji Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan

Top