Exploiting Beauty in 19th Century French Art

submitted by Marsha Hallet

 The Broken Pitcher, 1891, oil on canvas, 53 in x 33 in
William-Adolphe Bouguereau

 

          Women and girls were a favorite theme of French genre painters during the

19^th century.  From Ingres to Jean-Léon Jérôme, to Degas, to Renoir, to William-

Adolphe Bouguereau, paintings of the female form, nude and clothed, were being

purchased by men.  Beauty, sensuality, and symbols of lost innocence were

marketing gold for the traditional academic painters of whom Bouguereau was

one of the most famous.  To quote the artist:

 One has to seek Beauty and Truth,'' he told an interviewer in 1895. ''There's only one kind of painting. It's the painting that presents the eye with perfection, the kind of beautiful and impeccable enamel you find in Veronese and Titian.[1]

          The Broken Pitcher, acquired by the de Youngs’ in 1893, is the first work   

of William Adolphe Bouguereau to be exhibited in California.[2]  The painting is

of a young girl who has broken her jug and failed in her mission to collect water.

The artist leaves us to wonder what happened and the positioning of the figure

suggests that the young girl may want to tell us.

          One of the first things we notice is how front and center and large the

girl has been painted, almost to facilitate a conversation with the viewer. Her head

is almost at the top of the canvas, and her left foot reaches to its edge to

suggest her closeness. The negative shape of light sky behind her back pushes her

forward. The atmospheric swath of lavender suggests a horizon line and  

describes a distant town.  We see the girl has reached a summit and is by herself.

          There is a strong diagonal line from the top of the pump to the bottom of the

broken jug that guides our eye through the painting.  From left to right 

there are strong horizontal lines including the horizon line, the pump platform and

the trough that steps down to the ground.

           The artist uses primary colors to define the girl’s clothing. The neutral

background emphasizes the realistically detailed hues of yellow and red which

comprise the plaid shawl she is wrapped in. Her white sleeves show textured

indentations from her arms and the navy blue skirt has subtle wrinkles.  The

secondary jade green colored glaze of the broken vessel is a resting

point that releases us from staring at the girl’s beseeching eyes. The painter wants

us to understand the context. The narrative is for us to imagine.

          This painting has been compared to The Broken Pitcher from the previous

century (1771) by Jean-Baptiste Greuze.  Viewers from the 19^th century and

earlier would have known that the broken pitcher represented a loss of

maidenhood. Interestingly, Bouguereau contrasts this symbol with its opposite,

bare feet that suggest innocence.  His model, Yvonne, who we see in various

 stages of her childhood throughout his paintings, was a favorite of the artist.[3]

                Bouguereau’s 19^th century view of classical mythological subjects,

historical narratives and genre scenes made him a popular artist.  He was

successful during his lifetime in both France and the United States and completed

822 paintings.  He was the recipient of many honors, including the Legion of

Honor, and his painting sold for high prices. Notably, he was instrumental in

getting French women admitted into art academies.

          By the early 20^th century, the public taste for Bouguereau’s type of work

had ended. The impressionist artists made a joke of his name:

Degas and his friends used the term ''bouguerated'' to derogate a finicky, overly finished painting surface, and van Gogh put him down as a well- paid maker of ''soft, pretty things.''[4]

          We can say now that the joke is on them.  In the 1980’s there was a revival

 of interest in figurative art and Bouguereau’s work was successfully exhibited at

 the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Montreal Museum of Art in

Canada. [5] Now more than 40 years later, I selected this work of art because it is

beautiful. It’s hard to say what cultural values and tastes will exist in the future,

 but perhaps the resurgence of interest in Bourguereau can suggest that nothing is

 ever cancelled. Certainly, the female form will always be beautiful.

.

 

 

 

---

[1] Glueck, Grace. "BOUGUEREAU, ART WAS STRICKLY 'THE BEAUTIFUL.'" New York Times (NYC, NY),
January 6, 1985

   

 

[2] "The Broken Pitcher - Rogue Art History." https://www.sartle.com/

                                

[3]   Bouguereau Flicker Group. https://www.flickr.com/groups/1067528@N25/discuss/72157618646513982/ .

 

[4]  Glueck, Grace. "BOUGUEREAU, ART WAS STRICKLY 'THE BEAUTIFUL.'" New York Times (NYC, NY),
January 6, 1985, Section 2, page 27.

https://www.nytimes.com/1985/01/06/arts/art-view-to-bouguereau-art-was-strickly-the-beautiful.html

   

 

[5] Ibid.