Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #54030 in Books
• Published on: 1996-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 125 pages

Review
Fronia Wissman's Bouguereau offers astute and illuminating insights into his art, career, and family life of the French artist Adolphe-William Bouguereau (1825-1905) whose evocative visions of a better, purer time and place earned him a passionate following during his lifetime down through the present. 60 full color reproductions and 15 black & white illustrations perfectly exemplify Bouguereau's prodigious talent in creating works of sensual, emotional, and intellectual appeal. By the time of his death in 1905, Bouguereau was scorned by progressive painters and critics who saw in his works all that was wrong with the official French world of art, but he was also a favorite of collectors, who found in his paintings of bathers, nymphs, and shepherdesses a realm of eternal beauty far from contemporary life. Bouguereau displayed his talent for drawing at a very early age, became educated at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, was a highly successful portraitist, was exhibited at the Salon to an enthusiastic public, and had his work recognized and awarded at various European expositions during his life. Bouguereau is a beautiful tribute to an artist and would grace any art school, community, or personal art library! -- Midwest Book Review

Customer Reviews

A great overview of works by a great painter
Had Bouguereau painted in an era that didn't coincide with the impressionists, knowledge of his work would no doubt be more widespread, and we'd be blessed with more retrospective art books. After searching for years, the Wissman book was a dream come true: something other than a calendar that contained more than five Bouguereau works. The presentation here was well thought out, with the paintings grouped by subject/theme, and the text therein describing chronologically the development of Bouguereau's work. I appreciated the link between the artist's life and the influence of other artists and the art world at the time. The artwork itself is wonderfully portrayed, colorful and true, in almost all cases, the exceptions being an occasional inconsistency in contrast or sharpness (probably due to less-than-ideal photographic conditions were the paintings are found). I also applaud the inclusion of dimensions and location/credit notes which accompany almost all of the paintings. The only way to improve upon this book would be to include even more of the artist's work, and make it larger.

Best (and only) book-length Bouguereau in print
Wissman did a great job providing a fair and balanced view of French painter Bouguereau's career. And it's a good thing too! Everything else related to the artist is either out of print or a flimsy postcard book. How could this be? Well, the unfortunate stereotype of Bougeureau buffs is that they "don't know much about art but know what they like." It may be that many editors assume that if you like Bougeureau's paintings, you aren't the type to read a serious art book. I like to believe this is wrong. I enjoy Bougureau's art very much and am glad that someone published a reasonable paperback history and criticism of the artist. I hope that one day, others write similarly good books about other "forgotten" 19th century artists.

Color reproductions are excellent
You wouldn't be ordering this book if you didn't already love Bouguereau, so rest assured that the reproductions are top notch, especially for a fairly inexpensive paperback.