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Lot Essay
Among Bouguereau's most desirable images are his sensitive depictions of young peasant girls. In these works, the artist captures a sentimental evocation of youth and coveys the ideals of beauty, purity and hope that were central to his artistic philosophy. These themes and images were central to the artist's oeuvre well into the 1890s. With their high finish and meticulous attention to detail, these paintings were highly sought after by collectors in Europe and abroad.
William Bouguereau was a compulsive draughtsman whose final paintings were the result of numerous preliminary sketches he made of models within the confines of his Paris studio. He was known to sketch drapery, hands and faces until he thoroughly understood the form properly and then he would incorporate these studies into his final paintings in order to achieve the heightened sense of realism upon which his artistic reputation was based.
In Rêverie sur le seuil, Bouguereau has incorporated all of the elements that made these paintings of French peasant girls so desirable to collectors both at the end of the 19th century as well as today. The young girl is presented to the viewer in three-quarter length and close to the picture plane, thereby monumentalizing her image. This is further enhanced by the simplicity of the background -- a plain doorway and step that serves to frame the image of the young girl and define her in space. This peasant girl offers no apologies; although the title indicates daydreaming, she engages the viewer with an intent and direct gaze, a conceit that also serves to concentrate all attention on the image of the young girl. Bouguereau has overlooked no detail, from the manner in which her pristine white blouse defines the shape of her shoulders and her skirt subtly captures the form of her legs and knees, to the virtuoso handling of her hands clasping her arms, culminating in the perfection of her lovely face. In the May 1879 issue of the art journal L'Art contemporain, the chronicler Adrien Désamy observed, 'It is said that no one is better versed than Victor Hugo to speak of women and children, one can similarly exclaim, that in our times, no one is more skilled to paint women and children like M. Bouguereau.'
Rêverie sur le seuil is a recent and exciting discovery. In Damien Bartoli's catalogue raisonné on the artist, the painting is listed with no provenance and as 'location unknown.' It is illustrated only by the photograph from the collection of the artist (fig. 1). The painting was purchased in 1900 by Frank Totton Heffelfinger of Minneapolis, Minnesota and graced the family home, Highcroft, from 1916 until 1952 where it hung in the dining room (fig. 2). When Highcroft was torn down in 1952, the painting moved to Maplewoods. Upon Frank Totton Heffelfinger's death in 1959, the painting was moved to Shadowood, the residence of Totton Peavey Heffelfinger. Marcus W. K. Heffelfinger was the next owner and it is from his estate that this wonderful and hitherto unknown work has come to light.
William Bouguereau was a compulsive draughtsman whose final paintings were the result of numerous preliminary sketches he made of models within the confines of his Paris studio. He was known to sketch drapery, hands and faces until he thoroughly understood the form properly and then he would incorporate these studies into his final paintings in order to achieve the heightened sense of realism upon which his artistic reputation was based.
In Rêverie sur le seuil, Bouguereau has incorporated all of the elements that made these paintings of French peasant girls so desirable to collectors both at the end of the 19th century as well as today. The young girl is presented to the viewer in three-quarter length and close to the picture plane, thereby monumentalizing her image. This is further enhanced by the simplicity of the background -- a plain doorway and step that serves to frame the image of the young girl and define her in space. This peasant girl offers no apologies; although the title indicates daydreaming, she engages the viewer with an intent and direct gaze, a conceit that also serves to concentrate all attention on the image of the young girl. Bouguereau has overlooked no detail, from the manner in which her pristine white blouse defines the shape of her shoulders and her skirt subtly captures the form of her legs and knees, to the virtuoso handling of her hands clasping her arms, culminating in the perfection of her lovely face. In the May 1879 issue of the art journal L'Art contemporain, the chronicler Adrien Désamy observed, 'It is said that no one is better versed than Victor Hugo to speak of women and children, one can similarly exclaim, that in our times, no one is more skilled to paint women and children like M. Bouguereau.'
Rêverie sur le seuil is a recent and exciting discovery. In Damien Bartoli's catalogue raisonné on the artist, the painting is listed with no provenance and as 'location unknown.' It is illustrated only by the photograph from the collection of the artist (fig. 1). The painting was purchased in 1900 by Frank Totton Heffelfinger of Minneapolis, Minnesota and graced the family home, Highcroft, from 1916 until 1952 where it hung in the dining room (fig. 2). When Highcroft was torn down in 1952, the painting moved to Maplewoods. Upon Frank Totton Heffelfinger's death in 1959, the painting was moved to Shadowood, the residence of Totton Peavey Heffelfinger. Marcus W. K. Heffelfinger was the next owner and it is from his estate that this wonderful and hitherto unknown work has come to light.