Adolphe-William Bouguereau (Bouguereau) saw the light in November 1825 in ordinary family dealers in olives and wine, in the French town of La Rochelle. It seemed that he was destined by fate to continue the glorious traditions of the family business. But thanks to a relative - the priest Uncle Eugene, the boy had the opportunity to study.
High school talent of the future brilliant artist quickly noticed. Further education William continued in Bordeaux, at the Royal School of Art. To pay for his studies, he worked as an accountant for a local winemaker, drawing labels and labels for a grocer.
After graduating, Bouguereau created portraits for some time and painted frescoes, walls in the homes of wealthy bourgeois. Having accumulated the necessary initial capital, William was able to fully devote himself to his beloved business - classical painting. The career of the artist was successful and very successful. He enjoyed the condescension of critics and respect among connoisseurs of art. The annual Parisian salons exhibited his paintings for more than fifty years. Twice (in 1885 and 1878) the artist was awarded the title of the best painter of the year in France.
Before starting work on the next masterpiece, Bouguereau carefully and completely studied the history of the subject, made numerous sketches. And only then he began to create a canvas. His paintings, especially mythological subjects, were very popular in France XIX century. The greatest master of painting, William Bouguereau, in addition to talent, also possessed kindness and compassion. He willingly did charity work, was a sponsor for many start-ups talented artists. Among his pupils are such illustrious, famous masters like Gustave Jacquet, Henri Matisse, Paul Chabas, Othon Fries, Pierre Cote and many others.
IN late XIX century, interest in his paintings noticeably subsided. A period of oblivion set in, connected with the fact that Bouguereau sharply denied impressionism, considering such works to be "unfinished sketches." This genre was just coming into vogue at that time. Died great artist in 1905 on August 19 in his native town of La Rochelle and was buried in the famous French cemetery of Montparnasse.
Nowadays, interest in forgotten artist is growing. This french painter is considered the largest representative of salon academism. The thoroughness of the expositions on biblical, allegorical, mythological and historical plots unusually accurate. painstakingly discharged the smallest details and every detail has been taken into account. During his lifetime, William Bouguereau created over 800 great picturesque paintings and made a rich contribution to the creation and development of such a genre in art as academic painting.
Bouguereau, Bouguereau ( William Adolphe Bouguereau) William Adolphe, French painter, largest representative salon academic painting. Born November 30, 1825 in La Rochelle. Studied painting at the Royal School of Fine Arts. After finishing school, I received Grand Prize- a trip to Italy. On his return from Rome, for some time he painted frescoes in the style Italian Renaissance in the houses of the French bourgeoisie. Having collected the necessary capital, he finally devoted himself to his favorite business - academic painting. Bouguereau's career as an academic painter was quite successful, the artist enjoyed the recognition and favor of critics and exhibited his paintings in annual Parisian salons for over fifty years. At the exhibitions of the Paris Salon of 1878 and 1885 he was awarded the highest award- Gold medal as the best painter of the year in France.
The paintings of William-Adolf Bouguereau on historical, mythological, biblical and allegorical subjects were carefully composed and painstakingly written out, down to the smallest detail.
Youth of Bacchus, 1884
Most famous canvases painter - "The Triumph of the Martyr", 1854; "Oreads", 1857; "The Birth of Venus", 1879; "Nymphs and Satyr", 1881; The Youth of Bacchus, 1884. Bouguereau also painted murals and portraits. Bouguereau opposed the exhibition of the Impressionists' work in the Parisian salons, considering their paintings simply unfinished sketches.
After his death and a period of oblivion of his work, Bouguereau's work was appreciated. contemporary critics, as a significant contribution to the development of the genre of academic painting. A major retrospective exhibition of Bouguereau's work opened in Paris in 1984 and has since been shown in Montreal, Hartford and New York.
William Adolphe Bouguereau died on August 19, 1905 in his hometown of La Rochelle.
During his life Bouguereau painted 826 paintings. The most famous of them are "The Birth of Venus", "Dante and Virgil in Hell", "Girl Knitting", "Shepherdess", "Dance", etc.
Born in 1825 in La Rochelle in a family of wine and olive merchants. He seemed destined to continue the family business, but thanks to his uncle Eugene, a priest who taught him classic biblical stories, Bouguereau went to high school. There he immediately discovered his artistic talent. His father was persuaded to send his son to the school of fine arts in Bordeaux. There Bouguereau was awarded the first prize for the image of St. Roch. To earn money, he created labels for jams and preserves.
He studied at the Paris School of Fine Arts, in 1850 he was awarded the Rome Prize for the painting "Zenobia found on the banks of the Araxes." His paintings on mythological subjects and genre works in the style of realism were very popular in France in the 19th century. At that time, he was even considered one of the the greatest masters painting in the world. In 1900, Edgar Degas and Claude Monet allegedly said that in 2000 Bouguereau would be called the greatest French artist XIX century. His paintings, despite high prices, were snapped up briskly, especially by wealthy Americans.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the popularity of William Bouguereau quickly waned - partly because of his sharp rejection of impressionism, partly because of the increased interest in modernism. Now interest in the artist's work is growing again. Among the pupils of Bouguereau's studio, in particular, Henri Matisse, Othon Fries, Edmund Tull, Gustave Jaquet, Paul Chabas.
http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouguereau 
Self-portrait. 1879
Dante and Virgil in Hell, 1850 
Remorse of Orestes. 1862 
Girl resisting Cupid
1880
Nymphs and Satyr, 1873 
Invasion
1892
Birth of Venus, 1879 
Queen of angels. 1900 
Rapture.1897 
Soul in Heaven.1878 
Lullaby. 1875 
Nice burden. 1895 
Rest. 1879 
Difficult lesson. 1834 
Holy family. 1863 
Madonna in roses. 1903 
Madonna in Lilies. 1899 
Flagellation of Jesus Christ. 1880 
Lamentation for Christ. 1876 
Prayer. 1867 
Homer and his guide. 1874 
Our Lady of Consolation. 1875 
Madonna and angels 
Mercy. 1878 
Motherland. 1883
Adolphe William Bouguereau(French Adolphe-William Bouguereau; November 30, 1825, La Rochelle, France - August 19, 1905, La Rochelle, France) - French painter, master of academic painting, the largest representative of salon academism, author of paintings on historical, mythological, biblical and allegorical plots, performed wall paintings and portraits. During his life, Bouguereau painted 826 paintings. The most famous of them are "The Birth of Venus", "Dante and Virgil in Hell", "Girl Knitting", "Shepherdess", "Dance", "Cupid" and others. Biography Born in 1825 in La Rochelle in a family of wine and olive merchants. He seemed destined to continue the family business, but thanks to his uncle Eugene, a priest who taught him classic biblical stories, Bouguereau went to high school. There he immediately discovered his artistic talent. His father was persuaded to send his son to the school of fine arts in Bordeaux. There Bouguereau won the first prize for the depiction of St. Roch. To earn money, he created labels for jams and preserves. He studied at the Paris School of Fine Arts, in 1850 he was awarded the Rome Prize for the painting Zenobia Found on the Bank of the Araxes. His paintings on mythological subjects and realistic genre works were very popular in France in the 19th century. At that time, he was even considered one of the greatest masters of painting in the world. In 1900, Edgar Degas and Claude Monet allegedly said that in 2000 Bouguereau would be called the greatest French artist XIX century. His paintings, despite the high prices, were sold out briskly, especially by wealthy Americans. At the beginning of the 20th century, the popularity of William Bouguereau quickly waned - partly because of his sharp rejection of impressionism, partly because of the increased interest in modernism. Now interest in the artist's work is growing again. Among the pupils of the Bouguereau studio, in particular, are Henri Matisse, Othon Fries, Edmund Tull, Gustave Jaquet, Paul Chabas, Emilie Dejeu, Pierre Auguste Cot.
Notes 1. Bouguereau 2. Adolf William Bouguereau. SELF-PORTRAIT 1879 Museum contemporary art, Montreal, Canada 3. Fronia E. Wissman, Bouguereau, Pomegranate Artbooks, Rohnert Park, CA, 1996, ISBN 0-87654-582-7, p. 11 4. Bouguereau William-Adolf // encyclopedic Dictionary Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional) - St. Petersburg, 1890-1907.
William Adolphe Bouguereau (fr. William-Adolphe Bouguereau; November 30, 1825, La Rochelle - August 19, 1905, ibid) - French painter, prominent representative salon academism of the 19th century. His work can be characterized as "the quintessence of painting of his generation." The catalogs include 828 paintings by Bouguereau, mainly on mythological, allegorical and biblical stories. Researchers classify his work as the so-called "romantic realism", since he, following the techniques of romanticism, preferred to write from life and reproduced the appearance of his models from photographic accuracy. Despite the loyalty academic principles, in particular, - the primacy of drawing over color - in the 1890s was influenced by symbolism, which he interpreted as a method of revealing the essence of the depicted person with the help of secondary details that carry a semantic load.
Since 1876 - full member of the Academy of Fine Arts, professor high school Fine Arts (1888) and Académie Julian (1875). In 1857 he was awarded the Honorary Medal of the Salon, commander of the Order of the Legion of Honor (1885). Taking advantage of commercial success, Bouguereau did not accept impressionism and new trends in fine arts and consistently resisted them using administrative resources. As a result, after his death, he was forgotten, and for a long time V critical literature only negative opinions about his work were reproduced, he was perceived mainly as a painter of the nude genre, indulging the basest tastes. Only since the 1980s, when the attitude towards salon-academic art changed, Bouguereau began to be regarded as one of the major painters XIX century, who brought up many famous artists, including Henri Matisse, Felix Vallotton, Wilhelm List, and others.
William Adolphe Bouguereau was the second of eight children of Theodore Bouguereau and his wife Marie Marguerite Adeline Bonin. The head of the family was a small entrepreneur and managed a wine warehouse. According to tradition, William was baptized in the Calvinist church, but at the age of five he was converted to the Catholic faith at the insistence of his uncle, the priest Eugene. In 1832, Theodor Bouguereau moved to the island of Re, where he planned to work in the port, where seven-year-old William first showed artistic ability and enthusiastically drew on everything that he had to. By that time, the constant need forced to send the children to be raised by relatives, William entered the care of Eugene Bouguereau, Theodore's younger brother, who was then 27 years old. The priest uncle instilled in William a sincere faith, as well as a love of literature. Eugene Bouguereau placed his nephew in a school in Pont, where he could attend drawing classes and quickly achieved his first successes; taught at the school of Louis Sage - a student of Ingres.
When William was 17 years old, his father improved his fortune in the olive oil trade and called his son to Bordeaux to learn how to do business. However, the son wanted to become an artist, and despite the hostile attitude of his father, his clients persuaded him to send William to the School of Fine Arts of Bordeaux, provided that this did not prevent him from learning to trade. As a result, William Bouguereau went to classes early in the morning and in the evenings, and worked in the shop during the day. In 1844 he received first prize for historical picture; competitors were students of the School of Fine Arts who attended classes in full program. Success greatly worsened the relationship between father and son: William dreamed of moving to Paris to study, but there was no money. Uncle Eugene was able to find clients for William, to whom he painted portraits for a small fee; in three months, Bouguereau Jr. created 33 portraits and earned 900 francs. According to some reports, William Bouguereau designed labels for jars of jams, etc. for merchants.
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November 30 celebrates 191 years since the birth of one of my favorite artists Adolphe William Bouguereau (Bouguereau)
Amazing artist!
His style of criticism is defined as romantic realism - as a romantic, he showed passions, a stopped moment of emotion and feelings, and as a realist, he painted from nature and reproduced the appearance of his models with photographic accuracy. 
Adolphe William Bouguereau was born on November 30, 1825 in France, the second of eight children. The father of the future artist was an entrepreneur, but things were not going well for him, and therefore the parents were forced to give their children to the care of relatives. Took custody of young William younger brother his father, Eugene Bouguereau, a young priest of 27 years old. It was the uncle who did the most for the growing artist: he instilled in him a love for literature, instilled sincere faith and, most importantly, supported his nephew's artistic endeavors.
Portrait of Eugene Bouguereau.
When William was 17 years old, his father took his son to him, in the hope that the offspring would follow in his footsteps and become engaged in trade and commerce. But the young Bouguereau flatly refused - he did not see himself as anyone but an artist. Through quarrels and disputes, a compromise was found - in the morning and in the evening, William Bouguereau studied at the School of Fine Arts of Bordeaux, and spent the day at work in his father's shop.
Most likely, Theodor Bouguereau, the artist's father, wanted to force his son to change his mind in this way. But you can't hide talent. In 1844, at the age of 19, Adolphe William Bouguereau receives first prize for a historical picture, beating students who, unlike the bound obligations to Father Bouguereau, attended classes in full.
(she tried to find this painting, for which he received a prize - but apart from the fact that Saint Roch was depicted on it, she did not find out anything ... sadness)
The success of his father's son did not make him happy - the young Bouguereau, realizing that he was capable of art, rushed to Paris, and Bouguereau Sr., realizing that the obstinate offspring was fleeing from his parental wing, firmly declared - no money, no Paris. Karoch, sit in Bordeaux on the priest evenly and trade!
To earn at least a little, Bouguereau created labels for jams and preserves. But Paris was still not enough. Then Uncle Eugene came to the aid of the sad nephew. He quickly brought clients to the novice artist and William Bouguereau painted portraits for a small fee, and then, having saved up 900 francs, he quickly left for Paris.
In Paris, Bouguereau developed his art, studying at the School of Fine Arts, survived as best he could, received prizes and awards, and in general, he was probably very happy - his favorite thing warmed the young man's soul. And I must say, Bouguereau was very confident in himself - having come to the School, he immediately began to send his work for the Rome Prize - 4000 francs and a business trip to Rome were a prize.
Luck smiled on Bouguereau in 1850. 
Zenobia on the banks of the Araks
I will not spray, who is Zenobia, read it yourself))
I can only say that the most amazing thing in this picture is the transmitted movement. Bouguereau was an expert in anatomy. Particularly noteworthy is the naked young man, whom Bouguereau showed at the moment when he raised himself on his hands to climb the wall.
SHEDEEVER!!!
In Italy, William Bouguereau studied paintings Italian artists Middle Ages and Renaissance. One of the paintings that Bouguereau sent to Paris from Italy was Dante and Virgil in Hell. 
Bouguereau here showed unthinkable expression and naturalism - so that the viewer does not doubt the reality of those cruel forces that reign in Hell. But Paris did not appreciate the efforts of Bouguereau, and Bouguereau did not return to the theme of fear and horror, at least on such a scale that in this picture, Bouguereau did not return.
Upon his return from Italy, William Bouguereau marries Marie-Nelli Monchablo. She bore him five children. From this moment on, the theme of motherhood, children, brothers and sisters, relations between family members becomes - not only the main one, but one of the main ones.
Young mother watching her sleeping baby
William Bouguereau was a real workaholic - creativity was for him both relaxation and the most demanding work. Eternal dissatisfaction with himself and a manic thirst to improve his skills have secured him the nickname "Sisyphus of the 19th century."
In 1864, Bouguereau turns to a new genre for himself - nude - and presents his first work: "The Bather". 
But white stripe From admirers and successes at exhibitions, a black streak changes in his personal life: in 1866, his daughter Jane passes away. In 1875, due to illness, the eldest son of Bouguereau, Georges, died. The boy was only 16 years old. In the spring of 1877, after a difficult birth, the artist's 40-year-old wife, Nelly, died, followed by her unborn son Maurice. Depression and grief pushed the artist to religious themes. This is how one of Bouguereau's most penetrating paintings, Pieta, is born. 
Pieta
Another painting on a religious theme is the Beating of Christ. It was from this picture that my acquaintance with Bouguereau began. I can't bring it here. 
In December 1877, Bouguereau met the American Elizabeth Jane Gardner, who became his first student and lover. Marriage was opposed eldest daughter artist Henrietta and his mother, but William and Elizabeth secretly married in May 1879. Officially, they were able to announce their marriage only in 1896. 
Mademoiselle Elizabeth Gardner.
Elisabeth helped her brilliant husband in his work and was the only one who painted in the style of Bouguereau. William seemed to have finally found the long-awaited peace of mind, but, unfortunately, fate was cruel. Died of tuberculosis last son. He became the fourth dead child in the family.
William Bouguereau outlived almost all of his children. Experienced sorrows and accumulated fatigue began to make themselves felt. The artist began to age rapidly. In 1905, William Bouguereau, as if sensing the approach of the end, returned to hometown La Rochelle, where he dies on August 19 at the age of 79. 
Equality before death. 1848
Has come new Age. Henri Matisse, one of Bouguereau's students, and other young artists rejected academism with its calibrated beauty, and the modern era came.
Bouguereau was forgotten. Many of his canvases, which even during the life of the artist were criticized for excessive eroticism and nudity, gathered dust in warehouses, attics and closed living rooms of collectors.
There were two world wars, and in 1984 Bouguereau's canvases waited for their finest hour. - the first retrospective exhibition of Bouguereau was organized in Paris. Most of the master's works were collected (there were 862 in total during the life of the master).
For many, this exhibition was a revelation. long gone lovely women, direct children and driven by the wind and passions, mythological satyrs and nymphs were presented to the audience of the twentieth century.
Bouguereau returned and his return was triumphant. 
Oreads.
Thank you all for your attention.
Well, exile - who suddenly became interested in this artist
http://gallerix.ru/storeroom/73167723/ - there are sooooo many of his works here
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opere_di_William-Adolphe_Bouguereau - and here they are indicated by year, though the images are not presented everywhere and plus on Italian page:)
