“at one time to possess a Bouguereau was regarded as the first necessity for an art patron.”
Appearing at auction for the first time in over fifty years, the present work dates from the artist’s mature, experienced period, just ten years before his death.
It was most likely a “tableau de vacances,” executed in the summer of 1895 while Bouguereau sojourned in his villa on rue Verdière in La Rochelle, and completed later that same year in the artist’s Parisian studio.
Bouguereau repeatedly worked from live models and was known for hiring Italian teenagers in the region, whom he paid generously to gain their trust, so they would appear in later works.
While the identity of our sitter remains a mystery, she was most likely a local Rochelaise, whose delicate treats and slender allure appealed to the master.
Lot 58 in our upcoming European Art and Old Masters sale
William-Adolphe Bouguereau (French, 1825–1905)
La Fleur Préférée (also known as 'L'Odorat')
Learn more about this beautiful painting through the link below!
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