William Bouguereau (1825-1905)
William-Adolphe Bouguereau,   William Adolphe Bouguereau,   W.A. Bouguereau

Pupil of:

Picot

Dupont Vicars 1901 Text:

The greatest modern master of figure painting, at least in the academic sense, William Adolphe Bouguereau, was born at La Rochelle, in the Gironde, in 1825. When he was seventeen years old, he had saved enough out of his earnings to carry him to Paris and support him there for a year. On this capital he became a pupil of Picot, and in 1843 entered as a student into the Ecole des Beaux Arts, until in 1850 he won the great prize scholarship known as the Prix de Rome, which entitled him to study four years in Italy at the expense of the Government. He became an Officer of the Legion of Honor. He was elected a member of the Institute. He was made honorary member of all the great art academies of Europe. He was loaded with medals, until they formed a unique collection in themselves.

The "Nymphs" of Bouguereau is one of his famous pictures.