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Art in the South

William-Adolphe Bouguereau ‘Return from the Harvest’ at Cummer Museum

By Chadd ScottPosted on September 15, 2021September 16, 20210 Comments
William-Adolphe Bouguereau (French, 1825-1905), 'Return from the Harvest,' 1878. Oil on Canvas. Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens
William-Adolphe Bouguereau (French, 1825-1905), 'Return from the Harvest,' 1878. Oil on Canvas. Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens

Would you believe the painter of this artwork, William-Adolphe Bouguereau (French, 1825-1905), was once one of the most controversial figures in the art world? Beloved by a certain set of art collectors, derided by another set of artists?

What could possibly be contentious about this massive – it’s about 10 feet tall – deftly-rendered, sweet depiction of an idealized child riding a donkey playing the role of Roman god Bacchus, surrounded by joyful peasants, in this celebration of age-old harvest festivals?

Bouguereau’s Return from the Harvest (1878; oil on canvas) at the Cummer Museum allows me to share one of the most unusual stories I’ve come across in my time as an arts writer.

Bouguereau was a painting superstar during the late 1800s through the early 20th century. He was laureled by the French artistic establishment. His popularity extended to America where collections–public and private–featuring his work were instantly stamped “bona fide” for elegance, taste and worldly sophistication.

His idealized, polished images—chastely sensual, classical maidens, Raphaelesque Madonnas, impossibly pristine peasant children—embodied the tastes of the American Victorian age and his Gilded Age patrons which including the Rockefellers, Vanderbilts and Carnegies.

But he had his detractors as well. Detractors whose influence would far surpass his own. Detractors who “won” art history, leaving Bouguereau forgotten–or ridiculed–as a hopeless anachronism. Detractors with names like Degas, Cézanne, Van Gogh and Gauguin.

Bouguereau’s exquisitely refined, restrained, traditionally academic style of painting was in stark contrast to the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists who wanted to free painting from its confining history. They wanted to express themselves, their feelings and their emotions on the canvas. They wanted to paint ordinary people, warts and all. They wanted to experiment with color and perspective. They wanted to show their brushstrokes.

Their innovations, eventually, took hold, birthing Modern art and the countless even more radical experimentations which followed. Experimentations which made Bouguereau’s work appear ever stodgier.

On top of that, the pin-up pretty, lily-white, demure, submissive nude women occupying domestic or pastoral settings which fill his paintings don’t age well at all. Interestingly, the wall text beside this artwork at the Cummer explains that when it was commissioned by wealthy American department store owner Alexander T. Stewart, he stipulated it not be a nude.

Important to note about Bouguereau is that while his artwork was in line with 19th century mores in terms of objectifying women, he held progressive views on their place in the art world. As a faculty member at Paris’ Academie Julian, Bouguereau championed the right of women to join classes and paint alongside men. At this time, women were not allowed to enroll at the larger, more prestigious École des Beaux-Arts.

If it’s only Bouguereau’s paintings which offend Modern sensibilities, is that a crime worthy of banishment from the art world? Are Bouguereau ’s paintings “worse” for women than Gauguin’s pedophilia or Picasso’s notoriously abhorrent mistreatment of his numerous lovers? Gauguin and Picasso continue to be museum exhibit darlings drawing huge crowds, why not Bouguereau?

Bouguereau, the French salon system and Neo-classicism “lost” art history to the Modernists. Return from the Harvest allows you to ponder for yourself the verdict and its legacy.

Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens

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A CLASSIC Julian Onderdonk #texas #hillcountry #bl A CLASSIC Julian Onderdonk #texas #hillcountry #bluebonnets painting, “Near San Antonio” (1918) at @sama_art. I have long said my dream den has an Onderdonk #bluebonnet painting. A Texan, he nailed the “feel” as only someone passionate for and intimate with that landscape could.
Following the bluebonnet painting are others from Onderdonk including from his time in New York, which I knew nothing about.
#visitsanantonio
Claude Monet and Joan Mitchell face-to-face about Claude Monet and Joan Mitchell face-to-face about 15-feet apart at @mcnayart @visitsanantonio #visitsanantonio.
McNay is one of my favorite small museums in the US, wonderful Modern art collection with MAJOR figures like these and many, many others (Hopper, Rivera, van Gogh, Gauguin, Modigliani, etc).
#monet #claudemonet #joanmitchell #modernart #painting
Helen Frankenthaler’s ‘Eden Revisited’ (1967 Helen Frankenthaler’s ‘Eden Revisited’ (1967-1976) sure to brighten your day, it did mine on a recent visit to @sama_art @visitsanantonio. Stunning, vivid, massive (10-plus-feet tall), expressive… up close you can see the paint stains. 
I see so much drama in this painting, so much certainty, confidence. Of all the past artists I could have met, @helenfrankenthalerfoundation would be high on the list.
#helenfrankenthaler #colorfieldpainting #greatwomenartists #femaleartist #womenshistorymonth #yellow #orange #painting #modernart #visitsanantonio
3 showstoppers from @_wiggins_ at @briscoemuseum @ 3 showstoppers from @_wiggins_ at @briscoemuseum @visitsanantonio. Kim’s mark making and color are instantly recognizable and I DIG it! 
#visitsanantonio #westernart #westernartist #santafe #cowboy #purple
Harold Newton (left) and Alfred Hair side-by-side Harold Newton (left) and Alfred Hair side-by-side at @tampamuseumofart. To learn more about the original Florida Highwaymen artist, click the link in my bio.
#floridahighwaymen #haroldnewton #alfredhair #florida #floridalife #floridaartist #floridaart #floridaartists #blackartist #floridahistory
OVERWHELMED by this exhibition of #purvisyoung art OVERWHELMED by this exhibition of #purvisyoung artwork on view at @tampamuseumofart! 
What most caught my eye were all the 18-wheelers. Are these a reference to “urban renewal” and the siting of I-95 through the heart of Young’s #overtown #miami neighborhood. 
As occurred across America during 1950s-80s, so-called urban renewal was a tactic used by white politicians to destroy thriving Black communities by running interstates through them to aide white suburbanites in getting to jobs in town faster.
Young experienced Overtown on both sides of #urbanrenewal and I can’t help thinking all these trucks are commentary on I-95.
#miamilife #tampa #tampaflorida #artmuseum #blackart #blackartist #blackartmatters #selftaughtartist
I was writing about @ronjonofficial for my “My F I was writing about @ronjonofficial for my “My Favorite Florida” column on Rovology.com travel site this morning. My first visit was 86ish, my most recent visit came last month. 
#ronjonsurfshop #ronjon #cocoabeach #cocoabeachflorida #surfing #surflife #80s #80sfashion
“Florida Highwaymen: Dashboard Dreams” closes “Florida Highwaymen: Dashboard Dreams” closes at @aebackusmuseum 2/26. Best chance all year to see original Florida Highwaymen paintings. 
More info about Highwaymen check link in bio.
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