On Bouguereau: I was absolutely destroyed by the flawless beauty he had painted
From
Published before 2005
The first time I saw a Bouguereau was in the private collection
of Salvador Dali in his museum in Figueres, Spain. There were two nude
studies and these captured my imagination far, far more that any of Dali's
greatest works there. I'd never heard of him before, but I was absolutely
destroyed by the flawless beauty he had painted. I knew immediately that
there was something deeper in this artist, that he saw or came closer to
anyone else in seeing pure and timeless Beauty. He immediately became my
favorite painter. Other than a very small aside in a large Art History tome
I'd heard absolutely nothing about him, and neither had any of my friends
who I went on and on to about these two paintings.
This site is so good... I feel like I've found a home among friends and
I'm glad I'm not the only one who has independently come to recognize this
genius once buried. I knew I was right when I first saw that beautiful young
girl holding her hair up, the light playing so timidly with her elbow... It
still makes me smile thinking how many hours I sat there thinking I should
be looking at Dali's work when all I wanted was to understand the enigma
before me in Bouguereau.
