William-Adolphe Bouguereau


William-Adolphe Bouguereau Portrait
Name
William-Adolphe Bouguereau
Life Dates
1825 - 1905
Country
France
Movement
Realism

William-Adolphe Bouguereau Biography

William-Adolphe Bouguereau was born November 30, 1825, in the city of La Rochelle, France. The second son of Théodore Bouguereau, a struggling wine salesman, he was sent off at an early age to stay with his uncle, Eugène Bouguereau, a vicar in the parish of Mortagne-sur-Gironde, to help the family weather some dire financial straits.

Under his uncle's care William got a thorough education in Latin and French literature, as well as religious texts. At the age of fourteen his uncle sent him to study at the college of Pons, a religious boarding school administered by a friend and fellow clergyman. He received his first lessons in artistic drawing from a professor named Louis Sage.

In 1841 Théodore Bouguereau abandoned his wine venture and moved to Bordeaux, where he took up the olive oil trade, with more success. William was requested to leave his studies behind and rejoin his family as a bookkeeper for the business, as a means of training so that he could later take up a salaried bookkeeping job at a different workshop. However, William had his sights set on the local École des Beaux-Arts, a municipal art school, after learning about it from a friend who'd attended. With the help of his friends, his mother, and Eugène, all of whom were aware and supportive of his artistic talents, William convinced his father into giving him permission to enlist in the school, on the condition that these studies wouldn't lead him down the risky path of pursuing a professional art career.

William's outstanding painting skills got him immediately accepted into the senior class at the school, taught by one Jean-Paul Alaux. Bouguereau was only ever a part-time student, having to balance his studies with work in the family business. However, his aptitude with a brush not only let him keep up with his classes, but even won him a prize in 1844 for "Best Historical Painting", despite steep competition from his older, full-time classmates. This strongly encouraged William to pursue further studies at the more prestigious École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. His father reluctantly gave him permission to do so.

Unable to afford the trip, Bouguereau couldn't depart for Paris immediately. To raise money, he enlisted the help of his uncle and moved back to Mortagne-sur-Gironde, where he painted commissions–mostly portraits–for prominent locals. The resulting revenue was enough to let him undertake the journey, and after a brief stay in his hometown, which nearly resulted in his conscription by the French military, he departed for...


William-Adolphe Bouguereau 118 Most Important Paintings and Artworks

William-Adolphe Bouguereau Bibliography

Bouguereau by Fronia E. Wissman. Pomegranate Communications, 1997.

William Bouguereau: His Life and Works by Damien Bartoli. Antique Collectors Club Dist, 2014.

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