Jean,

Artrenewal.org has an article called "Bouguereau at work". The last page appears to outline his pallette.

Jeff
 

This is what I was looking for. Thanks for directing me. I had started to read this article before but never finished (interrupted), I'm glad you guided me back to it.:sunnysmil

Jean

Truth
 

Well Jean,

I've seen dozens of palettes from many a good and great painter and that really is not the answer. The answer to painting like Bouguereau is painting from life - hundreds of paintings from the live model. It also helps to know about mediums and varnishes and glazing techniques. It is great work to look especially fun in person.

Milwaukee Art Museum
 

Evidently there is a Bougeureau at the Milwakee Art Museum. Tom (husband) and I are going to go see it soon. Since discovering him I've decided I have to see these up close and personal. I'm so glad this site exists. It has opened my eyes to a whole new world.

Jean

Jean,

Tim is right, it takes hundreds of paintings and many, many years of life drawing to even dream of getting close to the quality of the Master Bouguereau (lets not forget the raw talent and interest one has to be born with).

Here is my advice to becoming the best "Master" painter you can be. Find the best "master" nearest to you and ask if they can offer you private lessons (expensive but priceless). Visit the museum every day and study every painting very closely, know them inside out. Read, read and read more about all the past Masters and how they painted. Collect as much information possible and keep it close by when painting. Make copies of their paintings from the best print you can find, or from the actual painting if you're lucky.

Be ready to make thousands of mistakes and correct them to the best of your abilities. Unfortunately there is no quick way to paint like the Masters, there are many books and articles on the internet that can explain the methods which help quite a bit but what it comes down to is practice, practice and practice more, now I must get back to practicing what I'm preaching, good luck.

Steve

Amazon.com has a wonderful book titled "Bouguereau" by Fronia E. Wissman. The book is 6" x 9" with tons of beautiful large size pictures and wonderful narrative. Since I really enjoyed reading it I thought some of you might too.

Admin note: You can find this book here: http://www.portraitartist.com/bookst...-after1800.htm

Grace
 

Another thing that struck me about his work is the unaffected grace of his compositions. Every single line is beautiful and exactly where it belongs, without appearing posed. I admire this quality.

Steven, thanks for your plan for my future. I will be following as much of it as humanly possible. I have high aspirations.

Enzie, It's nice to see you back, I've missed you. I've already seen the book and it's on the "list" also.

Jean

Jean,

Apart from many hours of studio practice on W.B's hands, you might wish to look into the "ghost", formed by scraping down on an oil painting. Also see W.B's earlier work, before he was forty, especially any unfinished work. (There is a "ghost" in the Cartoon practice as well.)

His oil studies and oil sketches were very finished, so like the practice today of working off of photographs, he could work off of his studies. Due to the superiority of taste he had in his studies, he avoided the pitfalls brought on when using photographs.

From what I can see, W.B. is a direct link in the line of established painter's practices, starting with Titian, and coming through Rubens, Van Dyck, Vermeer and temporarily ending at Bouguereau.

Unless a museum prints which pigments were found in an oil painting by scientific means, beware of past accounts of what is in the paint layer.)

Time to take the baton back up.