{"product_id":"young-mother-contemplating-two-embracing-children-by-william-adolphe-bouguereau","title":"Young Mother Contemplating Two Embracing Children by William-Adolphe Bouguereau","description":"William-Adolphe Bouguereau\u003cbr\u003e 1825-1905 | French\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eJeune mère contemplant deux enfants qui s'embrassent\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003e(Young Mother Contemplating Two Embracing Children)\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Signed “W-Bouguereau” (bottom right, 1861 date now obliterated)\u003cbr\u003e Oil on canvas \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e William Bouguereau's influence on 19th-century art is profound, earning him a cherished place in the French Academy. His frequent exhibitions at the Paris Salon led to the event being colloquially known as “Le Salon Bouguereau.” \u003cem\u003eYoung Mother Contemplating Two Embracing Children\u003c\/em\u003e stands out as an extraordinary work among his oeuvre, epitomizing the pastoral ideal and the classical grandeur inherent in Bouguereau’s oeuvre. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Bouguereau’s unparalleled ability to depict the moods and personalities of his subjects within classical settings is evident in this work. Influenced by the great Neoclassical artist Ingres, Bouguereau’s technique demonstrates an exceptional degree of finish and luminous coloration, characteristics of his prestigious education at the École Royale des Beaux-Arts. His portraits, especially those of young women and cherubs in idyllic natural settings, are among his most cherished works, with this being a particularly exquisite example. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In this composition, a classical beauty lounges in a mossy grove accompanied by her twin children, one fair and the other dark. Bouguereau displays his extraordinary mastery of dramatic lighting, with the mother cast in a cool shadow beneath the trees while the cherubs shine under a bright light in the foreground. The intricate rendering of the fabrics and the radiant skin of the figures imbues the scene with a luminous vitality that seems to leap off the canvas. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The classical ideal and the wonderment of a childhood spent in nature are themes celebrated across Bouguereau's oeuvre, making him an exceptional commercial success in his day. Collectors on both sides of the Atlantic had to wait two to three years to purchase one of his prized paintings. In the 19th century, no American collection would have been complete without a portrait by the French Academic master. Today, his works reside in prestigious museum collections such as the Musée d'Orsay, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the J. Paul Getty Museum. \u003cem\u003eYoung Mother Contemplating Two Embracing Children\u003c\/em\u003e is included in the Bouguereau catalogue raisonné as 1861\/03.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Dated 1861 \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Canvas: 32 1\/4” high x 39 3\/4” wide (81.92 x 100.97 cm)\u003cbr\u003e Framed: 49 3\/8” high x 57” wide x 6“ deep (125.41 x 144.78 x 15.24 cm) \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Provenance:\u003cbr\u003e Sold by the artist to Paul Durand-Ruel\u003cbr\u003e Private Collection of John. T. Martin, New York, before 1909\u003cbr\u003e Martin Estate sale by American Art Association of New York, 1909, lot 40 (no illustration, listed as \u003cem\u003eThe Twins\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e C. K. G. Billings, New York, purchased from the above\u003cbr\u003e Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Beverly Hills, CA\u003cbr\u003e Private Collection of Jozeph Szymanski, Pasadena, CA, from 1971\u003cbr\u003e Sale, Sotheby's New York, Nov. 3 1999, catalogue no. 7373, lot no. 55\u003cbr\u003e Private Collection\u003cbr\u003e M.S. Rau, New Orleans\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Literature:\u003cbr\u003e Galerie Durand-Ruel stock books\u003cbr\u003e Charles Vendryès, \u003cem\u003eCatalogue illustré des œuvres de W. Bouguereau\u003c\/em\u003e, Librairie d'Art, Paris, 1885, p. 21\u003cbr\u003e Amable Charles Franquet de Franqueville, \"William Bouguereau\" in \u003cem\u003eLe Premier Siècle de l'Institut de France\u003c\/em\u003e, Vol. I, J. Rothschild, Paris, 1895, p. 370 as \u003cem\u003eJeune mère contemplant enfants\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Marius Vachon, \u003cem\u003eW. Bouguereau\u003c\/em\u003e, A. Lahure, Paris, 1900, p. 147\u003cbr\u003e Mark Steven Walker, \"A Summary Catalogue of the Paintings,\" in \u003cem\u003eWilliam Adolphe Bouguereau: L'art Pompier\u003c\/em\u003e, New York, 1991, p. 66\u003cbr\u003e Damien Bartoli and Frederick C. Ross, \u003cem\u003eWilliam Bouguereau: Catalogue Raisonné of his Painted Work\u003c\/em\u003e, New York, 2010, p. 67, no. 1861\/03 (illustrated","brand":"M.S. Rau","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51803562508610,"sku":null,"price":1650000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0982\/5376\/6978\/files\/31-9611_1.png?v=1768102666","url":"https:\/\/www.bullvendors19.com\/de\/products\/young-mother-contemplating-two-embracing-children-by-william-adolphe-bouguereau","provider":"Bull Vendors 19","version":"1.0","type":"link"}