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Lot Essay
‘Even now, in spite of failing health he works incessantly. Only the other day I found him painting with boyish enthusiasm, full of joy over his new picture’. So wrote an anonymous author in the Fine Arts Journal of October 1905, clearly in admiration of Bouguereau’s facility and energy in the early years of the new century (quoted in Bartoli and Ross, op. cit., p. 427). Although in the later work there appears to be some diminution in execution, the underlying technique developed over decades did not fail Bouguereau in the waning years of his life.
Réflexion depicts a young, dark-haired model seated on a simple stone bench before a draped background. The model herself is in turn draped in a beautiful, emerald chiton-like vestment, her arms outstretched, one breast exposed. Even as late as the 1900s, Bouguereau’s relish for feminine beauty remained undiminished. As in so many of his paintings of young girls, this model’s steady gaze is directed straight out of the picture plane, drawing the viewer into the painting. The lack of background or ‘story’ actually serves to heighten the beauty of the sitter, as it presents very little to detract from the model herself. Bouguereau used this same backdrop in Jeune prêtresse (1902, Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, New York) with very much the same effect.
It is clear by the highly-finished face of the model and the quality of her hair that this painting was begun well before 1905. The glazes in her dark hair and her well-articulated expression do not reflect the diminished capacities of an artist in failing health. Even in his later years, Bouguereau was able to attain the level of artistic excellence upon which his life-long reputation was based. Indeed, he was still sending paintings to the Paris Salon a year before his death.
There was no end to William Bouguereau’s artistic career. The artist stopped painting when his life came to an end, because for him, painting was life. Bouguereau himself wrote, ‘People say I paint to make money; it’s not true. I don’t need to make money; my family and I have more than we need. But I have to paint all the time, as I see, feel and know. That’s all there is to it. People pay a lot for my paintings, and I’m not complaining; it proves that my work is still appreciated. But if they didn’t sell as well as they do, it wouldn’t stop me from making them' (quoted in Montréal, Musée des Beaux Arts, William Bouguereau, 1984, p. 68).
Réflexion depicts a young, dark-haired model seated on a simple stone bench before a draped background. The model herself is in turn draped in a beautiful, emerald chiton-like vestment, her arms outstretched, one breast exposed. Even as late as the 1900s, Bouguereau’s relish for feminine beauty remained undiminished. As in so many of his paintings of young girls, this model’s steady gaze is directed straight out of the picture plane, drawing the viewer into the painting. The lack of background or ‘story’ actually serves to heighten the beauty of the sitter, as it presents very little to detract from the model herself. Bouguereau used this same backdrop in Jeune prêtresse (1902, Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, New York) with very much the same effect.
It is clear by the highly-finished face of the model and the quality of her hair that this painting was begun well before 1905. The glazes in her dark hair and her well-articulated expression do not reflect the diminished capacities of an artist in failing health. Even in his later years, Bouguereau was able to attain the level of artistic excellence upon which his life-long reputation was based. Indeed, he was still sending paintings to the Paris Salon a year before his death.
There was no end to William Bouguereau’s artistic career. The artist stopped painting when his life came to an end, because for him, painting was life. Bouguereau himself wrote, ‘People say I paint to make money; it’s not true. I don’t need to make money; my family and I have more than we need. But I have to paint all the time, as I see, feel and know. That’s all there is to it. People pay a lot for my paintings, and I’m not complaining; it proves that my work is still appreciated. But if they didn’t sell as well as they do, it wouldn’t stop me from making them' (quoted in Montréal, Musée des Beaux Arts, William Bouguereau, 1984, p. 68).