[Republicanprofessor]

The interesting thing about Bougereau is that he was pretty much ignored until the feminist movement of the 1970s. Then the feminists reappraised the reputation of Rosa Bonheur, and then, with that, many of the other academic painters.

Bougereau Nymphs and Satyr (your favorite!) and Bonheur's Horse Fair

I'll still take the Guernica you posted over most Ingres and any Bougereau any time. However, Ingres' portraits are still stunning (and less distorted than his other nudes).

Ingres Mme. Riviere

[John O]

Now I like the Bougereau Nymphs and Satyr because it looks real. Even unreal things can be painted as real.

Ingres Mme. Riviere. A very pretty portrait. Oddly enough though her face is the week point of it. Everything else looks wondeful, rich and luxurious but her face looks dead(?). No spark, no fire in it. Contrast that to the central nymph in the other painting. Life, interest, passion, a sparkle in her eyes. She looks alive.

[Sam Cree]

RP, I don't know what the feminists may think of Bouguereau, or necessarily care, but the nude ladies in his paintings look like they could step right out of the paintings and walk across the room. That quality of *life,* which is present, IMO, in all his work is what, in my mind, makes his stuff transcend the somewhat silly or sentimental subject matter he used.

There aren't too many painters who do that, make the figures look so alive. Another who does, worlds apart, is Anthony Van Dyke.