William Adolphe Bouguereau was a classically trained French painter born in 1825, died in 1905. An Academic painter, Bouguereau trained at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Bordeaux and Paris. During the course of his incredibly successful career, Bouguereau was highly sought after by wealthy art patrons. However, despite his technical facility and notable popularity, Bouguereau's work slipped into obscurity for many decades after his death because of its retroactive, anti-avant garde aesthetic. In recent years, prints of his work have become commercially available due to a resurgence of interest in his work.
Instructions
1. Choose your subject. Bouguereau's work covered a limited range of subject matter. He painted women almost exclusively, and within that category, he painted classical images of goddesses and portraits of women and female children. Portraits were often positioned out-of-doors, and subjects were usually barefoot. His female subjects had large, entrancing, dark eyes, somber expressions and half curly/wavy hair in long tresses. Female portraits frequently featured accessories for the subjects, such as water jugs, sewing projects, gardening tools and fruit. Although this type of painting is distinctly 19th century, and might seem strange placed in a modern context, these are important distinguishing characteristics and should not be ignored. Figures should be somber and beautiful, and portrayed in an idealized, romanticized setting. You should be painting from live models or photographs.
2. Draw the subject on your canvas before beginning to paint. The subject should be centered and facing the viewer. Bouguereau was technically very skilled and his paintings were usually flawless in their portrayal. In order to successfully reproduce his style, one must be technically very proficient. To perfect your technique, you'll need to practice drawing figures in a highly realistic manner on your own.
3. Paint your first layer of paint on the canvas. Use a medium-size paint brush and quickly lay down a layer of paint that is thinned with paint thinner. This layer is put on the canvas only to get the painting started--although you should try to stay within the lines of the outline you drew on the canvas, it will not be entirely accurate. It will be corrected later. Use natural, earth tones.
4. Switch to a smaller paint brush. As you continue to put paint on the canvas, you will start utilizing small detail brushes. Mix paint for the highlights and shadows on the canvas. Highlights should be made by mixing the colors you've already used with white, while shadows should be mixed with natural dark colors like blue and brown, but not black (unless the object in shadow is black or gray). Flick your eyes back and forth between the canvas and the photograph or live model that you're painting from. Compare the two images constantly, looking for inconsistencies and inaccuracies. As you add additional layers to the painting, smooth the paint on your canvas with your paintbrush. You should not be able to see any paint globs or brush strokes in the finished product.
5. Set the painting aside when it becomes too wet. You'll know it's too wet when you can no longer paint on the canvas without muddying the color. Oil paint takes days to become superficially dry. Once the painting is superficially dry (meaning, your fingers do not smudge the paint when they touch the canvas), you may add more layers. Continue to flick your eyes back and forth between your model or photograph and the canvas. If you're having a hard time identifying errors, even when you think the errors are there, try turning the painting upside down. This should give you a fresh perspective. Continue painting sessions until you feel the painting is complete.
