"William-Adolphe Bouguereau (November 30, 1825 - August 19, 1905) was a French academic painter. Bouguereau was a staunch traditionalist whose realistic genre paintings and mythological themes were modern interpretations of Classical subjects with a heavy emphasis on the female human body.
Although he created an idealized world, his almost photo-realistic style was popular with rich art patrons. He was very famous in his time but today his subject matter and technique receive relatively little attention compared to the popularity of the Impressionists."
When I was in art school, the talk was all about Impressionists and Expressionists and Modern and Post Modern art. Conceptualists and Fauvist, ect. But never Bouguereau. Why? Because modern day art enthusiasts by en large appear to think he's passé. At the point in time that Bouguereau was painting, this sort of Salon art was very popular. Now these days, people look back with a preferential eye towards the innovators. Well, I think his paintings are astonishingly beautiful.
“It seems to be the fashion nowadays for a girl to behave as much like a man as possible. Well, I won't! I'll make the best of being a girl and be as nice a specimen as I can: sweet and modest, a dear, dainty thing with clothes smelling all sweet and violety, a soft voice, and pretty, womanly ways. Since I'm a girl, I prefer to be a real one!”
― Mrs. George de Horne Vaizey
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