id: 118627 accession number: 1939.647 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1939.647 updated: 2024-03-26 01:57:38.181000 The Virgin and Child, second half 19th century. William Adolphe Bouguereau (French, 1825–1905). Graphite heightened with white chalk; small sketch upper right in graphite; sheet: 31.4 x 24.2 cm (12 3/8 x 9 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Robert Hays Gries 1939.647 title: The Virgin and Child title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: second half 19th century creation date earliest: 1825 creation date latest: 1905 current location: creditline: Gift of Robert Hays Gries copyright: --- culture: France, 19th century technique: graphite heightened with white chalk; small sketch upper right in graphite department: Drawings collection: DR - French type: Drawing find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS * William Adolphe Bouguereau (French, 1825–1905) - artist William Adolphe Bouguereau started drawing at an early age but did not take lessons until 1834, his first year in college in Pons, where his instructor was Louis Sage, who had been a pupil of Ingres (q.v.). In 1841 Bouguereau's father, a wine merchant, moved the family to Bordeaux. The following year he was allowed to attend the École Municipale de Dessin et de Peinture, where he studied under Jean-Paul Alaux. Bouguereau became a bookkeeper for another wine merchant in order to meet the cost of the school. By 1844 he had won the first prize for figure painting, which further encouraged him to pursue his art career. He lived with his uncle in Mortagne from 1845 until 1846, painted portraits of the local landowners, and saved enough money to move to Paris. In 1846 he entered the École des Beaux-Arts and studied under François-Édouard Picot (1786-1868). After several attempts, he finally won the Premier Grand Prix de Rome in 1850. He lived at the Villa Medici in Rome and studied Raphael, Andrea del Sarto, Giotto's Paduan frescos, and those at San Francesco in Assisi. The impact of these works appeared in Bouguereau's oeuvre in the form of classical poses, restraint, and a high degree of finish. After his return to France, Bouguereau exhibited regularly at the Salon, concentrating on classical, genre, and religious themes. In 1858 he was commissioned to decorate his first public building-the Chapel of St. Louis in St. Clotilde Church in Paris. Other public commissions followed, including the chapels of St. Pierre-Paul and St. Jean-Baptiste at St. Augustin Church in Paris, the cupola decorations in the cathedral in La Rochelle, and the ceiling of the Grand Theater of Bordeaux. Bouguereau remained in France during the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71), fighting in the National Guard. Afterward he taught at the Académie Julian in Paris. In 1876 he fulfilled a lifelong goal, being elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts de l'Institut de France. He received the Legion of Honor in 1878 and was a professor at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1888. Bouguereau's support of the academy and his interest in classicism caused a fall in his popularity at the end of his life. Nevertheless, he died a successful, wealthy artist. --- measurements: Sheet: 31.4 x 24.2 cm (12 3/8 x 9 1/2 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: description: green-gray wove paper discolored to brown watermarks: inscriptions: inscription: signed, lower left, in graphite: Wm Bouguereau [underlined] translation: remark: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Drawings from the Collection (1945) opening date: 1945-04-03T04:00:00 Drawings from the Collection (1945). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 3-23, 1945). title: Paris autour de 1882 (Paris around 1882) opening date: 1982-11-03T05:00:00 Paris autour de 1882 (Paris around 1882). Museum of Fine Arts, Gifu, Gifu City, Japan (organizer) (November 3-December 19, 1982); Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan (January 15-February 20, 1983). title: National Schools of Style opening date: 1983-06-14T04:00:00 National Schools of Style. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 14-September 18, 1983). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS * {'description': 'CMA, National Schools of Style (June 14-Sep. 18, 1983).', 'opening_date': '1983-06-14T00:00:00'} * {'description': 'CMA, French Drawings and Watercolors from French Public and Private Collections (among CMA drawings supplementing this show) (Jan. 6-Feb. 15, 1942)--[? the exh. file list gives 39.638 as its number (but same artist and title)].', 'opening_date': '1942-01-06T00:00:00'} --- PROVENANCE Dr. Daniel A. Heubsch, Cleveland (according to departmental card) date: footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: digital description: wall description: --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1939.647/1939.647_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1939.647/1939.647_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1939.647/1939.647_full.tif