1825 -1905 · Academy, Salon and perfection of the figure

Pearly flesh, luminous mythologies and tender gestures make William-Adolphe Bouguereau the virtuoso master of French academicism.

William-Adolphe Bouguereau was born in La Rochelle in 1825 and died in this city in 1905. Raised in a family of merchants, he received classical training from a priest uncle which lastingly nourished his taste for Antiquity and religious stories. In Bordeaux, he took courses at the Municipal Drawing School while working to finance his studies. Admitted to the Paris School of Fine Arts in 1846 in the studio of François-Édouard Picot, he won the Prix de Rome in 1850. Admitted to the Paris School of Fine Arts in 1846 in the studio of François-Édouard Picot, he won the Prix de Rome in 1850. Admitted to the Paris School of Fine Arts in 1846 in the studio of François-Édouard Picot, he won the Prix de Rome in 1850. Admitted to the Paris School of Fine Arts in 1846 in the studio of François-Édouard Picot, he won the Prix de Rome in 1850. The stay at the Villa Medici and the study of Raphael, ancient art and the Italian Renaissance established the foundations of his profession. Bouguereau first constructed the figure with an extremely precise drawing, prepares gestures and draperies in numerous studies, then superimposes layers of paint until the touch is almost invisible. This finish gives the flesh a continuous light and the bodies an idealized presence. His mythological, religious and allegorical subjects met with immense success at the Salon and with French and American collectors. The Birth of Venus, presented in 1879, unfolds a vast sea procession around a goddess whose pose recalls the resurgent tradition. Psyche and Love transforms the mythological embrace into an aerial balance of lines and skin tones. Bouguereau also paints many children, young peasant women and maternity wards. In Innocence, the lamb and the infant condense the Christian vocabulary of gentleness; The Nest and Ray of Sun favor intimacy, gesture and light. An influential professor at the Académie Julian and the École des beaux-arts, he defends women's access to complete artistic training. Adored during his lifetime then rejected by the avant-gardes, Bouguereau experienced a long critical eclipse in the 20th century before a reassessment of his technique, his international network and his role in 19th century visual culture. Adored during his lifetime and then rejected by the avant-gardes, Bouguereau experienced a long critical eclipse in the 20th century before a reassessment of his technique, his international network and his role in 19th century visual culture. His work unites academic discipline, classical ideal and emotional efficiency. The selection "William-Adolphe Bouguereau" notably compares Innocence, reduction and Psyche and Love. His reading favors space.

Bouguereau erases the trace of the brush so that drawing, light and flesh seem to belong to the same continuous breath.