Italian Girl Drawing Water

Bouguereau was revered by his contemporaries as an academic genius. As we can see here, he had the ability to bring figures to life on the canvas. Many critics even credit him with being able to depict the very soul and spirit of youth. Italian Girl Drawing Water, an oil painting produced at the beginning of his career, is an example of his earlier work. From the 1880s onwards Bouguereau’s artistic interests moved towards ancient Greco-Roman mythology, and this is reflected in the ancient classical feel of his paintings. As Bouguereau’s career advanced, his art works came up against the challenge of Impressionism. Nevertheless his paintings were considered the ultimate in taste and refinement and were quickly snapped up by affluent Americans until 1920, fifteen years after his death.