A Young Girl in Profile

William Adolphe Bouguereau was a French academic painter. He was known for his scenes of pastoral tranquility (peaceful country life) depicting women and mythical figures. He was also known for his detailed and lifelike figures. This can be seen in the gentle curve of the young girl’s cheeks and the fine texture of her hair.

Many 19th-century painters depicted the poor conditions in which rural people lived and worked. In contrast, Bouguereau painted romanticized (to make something seem better than it really is) scenes of rural life. The French Academy’s influence declined toward the end of the 1800s. However, Bouguereau’s academic style paintings were still successful.

Academic art was produced under the influence of the official European academies of art. These academies controlled most of the art world from the 17th century through the 19th century. The academies were centers for teaching and exhibiting. They often controlled which artists received patronage (financial and social support). The standards of the French Académie des Beaux-Arts dominated art of this time. Their style combined elements of neoclassicism and romanticism. Neoclassicism was an art movement that drew inspiration from ancient Greece and Rome. Romanticism was an art movement that encouraged individualism and the appreciation of nature. The elements of these two styles can be seen in Bouguereau’s work.

For me a work of art must be an elevated interpretation of nature. The search for the ideal has been the purpose of my life. In landscape or seascape, I love above all the poetic motif.

William Adolphe Bouguereau

Bouguereau completed this figure study with the intention of including the girl’s likeness in larger paintings.