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The Elder Sister by William-Adolphe Bouguereau

Figure 1The Elder Sister. William-Adolphe Bouguereau 1869. Retrieved from: MFAH

During my recent virtual tour of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, I saw the

Elder Sister painting on display. The picture is found in the European section of the museum.

The Elder Sister stands out among its peers and outrightly calls the viewers' attention. In all

aspects, the painting seems futuristic and resembles professional photography with an artistic

touch. The Photo-realistic painting that sits proudly in the museum was painted by William
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Adolphe Bouguereau, who lived between 1825 and 19 Aug. 1905. It is not easy to outrightly

classify the style that William used in this masterpiece as it utilizes several techniques and art

forms. The painting integrates aspects of realism and also a modern interpretation of classical

objects and subjects. Notably, the artist here, in his characteristic element, makes a detailed

depiction of femininity and female beauty.

The Elder Sister is a nineteenth-century French art painted by the acclaimed French

painter Bouguereau in 1860. The painting has a unique history, specifically, how it landed in the

Houston Museum of Fine arts. In 1992, the painting was anonymously donated to the museum

by someone who wanted to commemorate their father. Since then, the painting has been a proud

part of the museum's permanent display, gracing the "Arts of Europe" section. Up to date, this

painting has become one of the most viewed paintings in the museum, often attracting many

viewers and art enthusiasts.

In the foreground of the piece is a teenage girl fondly cradling a baby on her lap against a

peaceful countryside background. For this painting, William used his children, Henriette and

Paul, as the subjects. Perhaps, the beauty of the painting lies in the apparent innocence of the

subjects, the raw beauty of the scene, and the artistically skillful attention to subtle beauty. In this

picture, the artist employs the academic painting style prominent in the last stage of the

eighteenth century and the early nineteenth century. The elder sister sits barefooted on a rock

with her right foot tucked under her body. The background in this art piece depicts either

countryside or the outskirts of a sparsely populated village which is most likely agricultural, or in

the middle of an open field. In her arms, the elder sister holds her younger brother, covered in a

red shawl. From the overview of the piece, the boy seems to be sleeping peacefully and is safe in

his sister's arms. The elder sister also looks contentedly out of the canvas towards her viewers
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and admirers and is content with her setting and surroundings. Despite being only children, there

is a strong bond between these two siblings as much as one is an infant. The young girl takes

care of her brother with care, love, tenderness, and compassion.

This masterful artwork's critical review and analysis reveal an apparent use of the

academic paint style mentioned elsewhere in this paper. William was a futuristic painter, which

is apparent in the detail he used in this painting. A close and critical examination of The Elder

Sister reveals a near-perfect use of the three fundamental 3F concepts of art; "Form Follows

Function." In this art conceptual framework, the form captures the visual aspects of the piece,

and function is the primary purpose that the painter intended for their painting. Any critical and

observant art enthusiast looking at the painting will inevitably discover that William intended to

depict an innocent country girl obsessed with taking care of her younger brother. William

achieves this goal by settling on the dreamy and utopic background that asserts the overall

affectionate atmosphere. In addition to the idyllic background, the painter vividly captures the

bright and magical smile of the young girl, which contributes to the overall message.

The utopic background and, to a large extent, the foreground show that William was in

control of the space on this canvas. Using the ideologies of academic and geometric painting, the

artist effectively utilized the space by settling for an ideal foreground distance in this piece. The

two subjects are not too close to the viewers, neither are they too far back to blur away some of

the critical physical and facial features that contribute to the overall viewing experience. Also,

William skillfully utilizes just enough space in the background to stress the overall simplistic

theme he intended for this piece and complement the emotions shown by the two children. In

addition to creating an aura of simplicity, the choice of background space in this piece creates

enough sense of comfort without being overly exaggerated. The educational use of space also
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manifests in the painter's use of the two-dimensional (2D) painting technique, which also

contributes to the overall purpose of the painting. Also, the 2D technique here serves to give the

subjects a proportional length and size. The little girl and her sibling are the sizes a viewer would

expect children to be at that age. Besides effectively utilizing the 2D painting, the artist

artistically utilized the subjects' negative space to emphasize the overall purpose. Only including

relevant and complementary colors around the actual subjects contributes to the general

manifestation of hope and joy, which according to (Konecni pp 305-322), serves to stress the

painting's prevalent emotions.

Like many artists who attended the Salon and Royal Academy, William has an

unmatched skill of using fine lines. The artist primarily employs the fluidity of brush to create

movements along with the canvas and the subjects in this piece. The artist uses such fine lines in

this painting that one would be forgiven for assuming this is an actual photograph instead of a

nineteenth-century painting. Williams's fine lines and texture help animate the painting, bringing

the subject to life and close enough to actual people. The artistic and skillful use of two-

dimensional lines also helps animate the background, specifically, the clouds. Arguably, a critic

would argue that the artist perfected this picture to a fault, which makes it idealistic rather than

realistic. Nevertheless, the use of zigzag liens capturing the creases on the subject's clothes and

the wavy patterns in the clouds help bring the painting closer to reality.

The color dynamics and pattern used in this painting don't take center stage, despite being

used masterfully. Ideally, the coloring of any patient is assessed on how the light reflects on the

canvas' surface. A keen study of color on the girl and toddler's faces and other body surfaces

reveals that the painter was in control of the light element and intended the subjects' faces to

capture the light subtly and gently while intriguing the viewer. Also, vivid color shows the
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viewers the subject's race, which is white Caucasian. The apparent contrast of the colors in this

piece, from the foreground to the negatives and the detailed background, emphasizes and draws

the viewers' attention to specific art segments. In essence, contrasting the subjects in the

foreground and the idyllic background draws attention to the two children in the foreground.

According to Burchett et al. (28-31), colors can be used together in a painting to bring harmony

and integrate scenes into one. By using monochromes and bright colors.

In addition to using color to bring out a critical aspect of the painting, William also uses

the artistic technique of implied texture. Texture can be seen in both the background and

foreground of the artwork. Texture, in this context, implies that the feel of the painting closely

depicts how things would feel in real life. For starters, the children's skins are smooth and

blameless, just like we would expect the skin of real children to feel. Notably, the use of texture

in this piece aligns with the principles of academic painting and helps bring out the artist's

intended aim for perfection.

Undoubtedly, William was a talented painter whose skills and brushstrokes were genius.

In all sense, William has been underrated and deserves more credit in the art world and field. As

shown in the discussion above, William was a gifted academic painter whose work parallels

Picasso's and other notable painters of the nineteenth century. Through the use of colors, delicate

brush strokes, contrast, and vivid contrast, The Elder Sister proves to be a remarkable painting

that would easily pass for a professional photograph. In addition to using the elements listed

above, William also uses a form that seamlessly fits into the painting and helps make it a true

literary masterpiece. While using texture to imply perfection and present an idyllic situation,

William doesn't let this concept limit his artistic impression and prowess, which can be seen in

how he uses rough texture in the background to add to the natural allure.
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Work Cited

Burchett, Kenneth E. "Color harmony." Color Research & Application: Endorsed by Inter‐

Society Color Council, The Colour Group (Great Britain), Canadian Society for Color,

Color Science Association of Japan, Dutch Society for the Study of Color, The Swedish

Colour Centre Foundation, Colour Society of Australia, Centre Français de la

Couleur 27.1 (2002): 28-31.

Konečni, Vladimir J. "Emotion in painting and art installations." The American journal of

psychology 128.3 (2015): 305-322.

MFAH. "The Elder Sister." https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/the-elder-sister-william-

bouguereau/qQElBSluRJ5MzA Accessed 27 Nov. 2021.