I have been doing some traveling lately, mostly for work (Magic the Gathering) but I have taken advantage of it to see some museums when I do. I was able to get some good captures of a couple Bouguereau paintings in the Frye Museum in Seattle and the Getty in L.A. I thought I would share them here along with some detail shots. Be sure and download them, or open them in a new tab to see them at full-size.
First up, The Shepherdess, 1881.
One more – A Young Girl Defending Herself Against Eros, 1880. This painting was done just a year before the other one. Here are some notes from the Getty site:
A young nude woman sits with her arms outstretched, pushing away a winged boy. He is Cupid, the god of love, holding up an arrow to pierce her. The title suggests that the young woman is trying to defend herself, yet she smiles and struggles unconvincingly against the mischievous little god.
Visitors to the Paris exhibitions of the 1870s and 1880s loved William-Adolphe Bouguereau’s paintings. The Getty Museum’s painting repeats a larger composition that Bouguereau made for the Paris Salon in 1880; a viewer probably saw the larger version there and requested a smaller one for private viewing.
Bouguereau placed his mythological fantasy in an idyllic, Arcadian landscape. In fact, he made this composition in his studio, copying the landscape from the neighboring French countryside and using one of his favorite models.
I hope that you enjoyed these images. Sometimes getting really good detail shots can help inform the process, or application of paint. I see them as supplements to my notes and they help my memory immensely.
A side note, the Getty site offers really large and beautiful captures of their collection for free. The capture of the image above is mine, but there is a very large and excellent image on their site along with hundreds of others. Tadema’s Spring comes to mind. Go check it out. Getty Museum
Thanks a lot, Howard.
You bet, thanks for giving the post a read and for the response.
Thank you Howard! Those are exquisite.
Bouguereau was amazing, wasn’t he? Happy to share. Thanks, Sally!
Wow, thank you Howard, these are some beautiful detail shots and really do help one see the marks on the canvas, and how they might be applied.
Excellent, I am glad the images are useful. I am finding that if the museum is finicky about me leaning in too close to get a good look at the surface of a painting, I can often see more when I get back home with my camera. While seeing it in person is always best, the photos can help with some analysis. Thanks for commenting, Carmen!
I get so excited whenever I see you’re authoring an article with master paintings, your photos are incredibly valuable and educational, thanks for sharing these.
Howard, thanks for sharing! Love the detail shots of the foliage and stone work. Im particularly drawn too Cupid’s hand placement on the arrow – more specifically the index finger. It seems both odd and necessary. Brilliant.
Thanks for Bouguereau’s images, they’re very beautiful and accurate. I wonder if you have the chance to visit Orsay museum to capture his birth of Venus painting, I’m interested in it
The photo is so beautiful and so honest, thank you for sharing your blog
Thank you so much! He is my favorite painter and I have yet to see one in person. I try to learn from doing reproductions and the detailed photos are priceless to me in seeing his technique. Thanks again!
Hi drawing is so simple n fine. The shapes r so easy to follow.
The skill is in subtlety of values and edges.