William-Adolphe Bouguereau, William Adolphe Bouguereau Oil Paintings Art

William-Adolphe Bouguereau (November 30, 1825 – August 19, 1905) was a French academic painting painter. William Bouguereau was a traditionalist whose realistic genre paintings and mythological themes were modern interpretations of Classical subjects with a heavy emphasis on the female human body.

Bouguereau gained local acclaim as a talented portrait paintings painter before going to Paris in 1846 to attend cole des Beaux Arts, noted for its traditional academic approach to painting. In 1850 Bougereau was awarded the coveted Prix de Rome and spent four years at the Villa Medici studying Classical and Renaissance masterpieces. The potent influence of Classical works is readily apparent in works dating after this period.

Bouguereau blended classical poses and subject matter with his own romanticized painting and realism painting rendered in the highly finished style that would come to characterize Bouguereau oil paintings. During the 1870s Bouguereau's focus shifted from historical and genre scenes to lighter, lyrical mythological subjects. Highly regarded by his contemporaries, Bouguereau was awarded numerous state commissions and, at the height of his career, taught at the Academie Julian and the cole des Beaux Arts.

Throughout his lifetime, Bouguereau oil paintings staunchly defended the academic tradition of painting and was viewed as an obstructionist by the new generation of painters who were experimenting with Impressionism painting.