William Adolphe Bouguereau

William-Adolphe 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 in 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, according to chairman Fred Ross of the Art Renewal Center. His works were eagerly bought, at high prices, especially by American millionaires. After about 1920, Bouguereau fell into a curious 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 married for the second time, with 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 Académie Française.

Sources on his full name are contradictory; some give William Adolphe Bouguereau, while others give Adolphe William Bouguereau.

Small sampling of works

Dante and Virgil in Hell (1850)Dante and Virgil in Hell 1850

La Danse 1850

Tobias Saying Good-Bye to his Father 1860

Alone in the World (Latest 1867)

The Knitting Girl 1869

The First Kiss 1873

Nymphs and Satyr 1873

Cupidon 1875

The Birth of Venus 1879

Evening Mood 1882

The Nut Gatherers 1882

Crown of Flowers 1884

Le Printemps (The Return of Spring) 1886

The Shepherdess 1889

The Little Shepherdess 1891

Invading Cupid's Realm 1892

L'innocence 1893

The Abduction of Psyche 1895

The Young Shepherdess 1895

Before the Bath (1900)

The Virgin With Angels 1900

Young Priestess 1902

The Madonna of the Roses 1903