La fille du pêcheur by William Bouguereau

William-Adolphe Bouguereau
1825-1905 | French


La fille du pêcheur
(The Fisherman’s Daughter)

Signed and dated “W-Bouguereau-1882” (middle right)
Oil on canvas

William Bouguereau's influence on 19th-century art is profound, earning him a cherished place in the French Academy. His frequent exhibitions at the Paris Salon led to the event being colloquially known as “Le Salon Bouguereau.” Among his numerous masterpieces, La fille du pêcheurstands out as an extraordinary work, epitomizing both the simplicity of life and the grandeur inherent in Bouguereau’s oeuvre.

Bouguereau’s unparalleled ability to depict the moods and personalities of his subjects within classical settings is evident in this work. Influenced by the great Neoclassical artist Ingres, Bouguereau’s technique demonstrates an exceptional degree of finish and luminous coloration, characteristics of his prestigious education at the École Royale des Beaux-Arts. His portraits, especially those of peasant women and children, are among his most cherished works, with La fille du pêcheur being a particularly exquisite example.

In this composition, a young girl stands against a historic column with a picturesque fishing village as her backdrop. Captured at the height of summer and her youthful vigor, she holds a basket, likely for collecting fish or other goods. Her gaze is both entrancing and coy, suggesting a moment of pure adolescent liveliness, possibly interrupted while running an errand. The intricate rendering of her dress and radiant skin, combined with her confident pose, imbues the subject with a vitality that seems to leap off the canvas.

Bouguereau’s works are immensely popular among collectors worldwide and can be found in prestigious collections such as the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the New Orleans Museum of Art. La fille du pêcheur is included in the Bouguereau catalogue raisonné as 1882/06. 

Dated 1882

Canvas: 57” high x 34 1/2” wide (133.78 x 87.62 cm)
Framed: 67 1/8” high x 44 3/4” wide x 2 1/4“ deep (170.50 x 113.67 x 5.72 cm)

View the Dossier

Provenance:
Galerie Goupil & Cie, acquired directly from the artist, 1882
Letts, Son & Co., acquired from above, 1882
Galerie Goupil & Cie, acquired above, 1883
William Schauss, New York, acquired from above, 1883
Private Collection of Mrs. Mary Corliss
Sale, American Art Association, 8 Feb 1935, lot no. 61, with illustration as Flower Girl
Grant Art Galleries
M.S. Rau, New Orleans


Literature:
Bougeureau's accounts, as Jeune fille appuyée sur une manne
Goupil, Boussod & Valadon sales register, nos. 16378 and 16520, as La fille du pêcheur
Charles Vendryès, Catalogue illustré des œuvres de W. Bouguereau, Librairie d'Art, Paris, 1885, p. 63
Amable Charles Franquet de Franqueville, "William Bouguereau" in Le Premier Siècle de l'Institut de France, Vol. I, J. Rothschild, Paris, 1895, p. 370 as La fille du pêcheur
Marius Vachon, W. Bouguereau, A. Lahure, Paris, 1900, p. 155
Mark Steven Walker, "A Summary Catalogue of the Paintings," in William Adolphe Bouguereau: L'art Pompier, New York, 1991, p. 72
Damien Bartoli and Frederick C. Ross, William Bouguereau: Catalogue Raisonné of his Painted Work, New York, 2010, p. 214-15, no. 1882/06 (illustrated)