The Elder Sister, reduction (La soeur aînée, réduction)
William Bouguereau
European Art
This painting portrays a young woman dressed in garments that seem at once rustic and classical, cradling a small child. The title identifies the figures as siblings, but their tender, entwined poses intentionally recall Renaissance paintings of the Madonna and Child. Such sentimentalized paintings appealed to a bourgeois clientele that appreciated delicately rendered Christian and humble domestic themes.
Many people who bought art for their homes in the nineteenth century preferred paintings such as William Bouguereau’s to those that displayed more radical approaches to brushwork and form. This was partly because their tastes were shaped by the burgeoning upper-middle-class merchant economy, which valued works that appeared fastidiously made over those that looked slapdash. Critics often compared painting techniques to types of labor, likening the polished surfaces and carefully modeled forms of academic painters such as Bouguereau to the delicate products of pastry chefs, and the thick, visible brushwork of avant-garde artists to the rough handiwork of bricklayers
Many people who bought art for their homes in the nineteenth century preferred paintings such as William Bouguereau’s to those that displayed more radical approaches to brushwork and form. This was partly because their tastes were shaped by the burgeoning upper-middle-class merchant economy, which valued works that appeared fastidiously made over those that looked slapdash. Critics often compared painting techniques to types of labor, likening the polished surfaces and carefully modeled forms of academic painters such as Bouguereau to the delicate products of pastry chefs, and the thick, visible brushwork of avant-garde artists to the rough handiwork of bricklayers
MEDIUM
Oil on panel
DATES
ca. 1864
DIMENSIONS
21 7/8 x 17 15/16 in. (55.6 x 45.6 cm)
Frame: 29 3/4 x 25 1/2 x 4 1/2 in. (75.6 x 64.8 x 11.4 cm) (show scale)
SIGNATURE
Signed lower right on chest: "W Bouguereau"
COLLECTIONS
European Art
ACCESSION NUMBER
21.99
CREDIT LINE
Bequest of William H. Herriman
PROVENANCE
Prior to 1918, provenance not yet documented; before 1918, acquired or exhibited by Durand-Ruel, Paris, France; by July 26, 1918, acquired by William Henry Herriman of Brooklyn, NY and Rome, Italy; May 18, 1921, bequeathed by William Henry Herriman to the Brooklyn Museum.
Provenance FAQ
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
William Bouguereau (French, 1825–1905). The Elder Sister, reduction (La soeur aînée, réduction), ca. 1864. Oil on panel, 21 7/8 x 17 15/16 in. (55.6 x 45.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of William H. Herriman, 21.99 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 21.99_PS9.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 21.99_PS9.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2015
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
No known copyright restrictions
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