Nymphs and Satyr | |
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French: Nymphes et Satyre | |
Artist | William-Adolphe Bouguereau |
Year | 1873 |
Medium | Oil on canvas |
Dimensions | 260 cm× 180 cm(100 in× 71 in) |
Location | Clark Art Institute, Williamstown |
Nymphs and Satyr (French : Nymphes et Satyre) is an oil on canvas painting created by the French artist William-Adolphe Bouguereau in 1873. The painting depicts a satyr and a group of nymphs from Greek mythology.
Nymphs and Satyr was exhibited in Paris at the 1873 Salon, which opened on 5 May, [1] a year before the Impressionists mounted their first exhibition. It was displayed along with a verse from the ancient Roman poet, Publius Statius: "Conscious of his shaggy hide and from childhood untaught to swim, he dares not trust himself to deep waters." [2]
One critic called it "the greatest painting of our generation". [3] Purchased for 35,000 francs by the American art collector and speculator John Wolfe on 26 June, 1873, it was displayed in his mansion for many years alongside other high-style French academic paintings. It was sold at auction in 1888, after which the painting was displayed in the bar of the Hoffman House Hotel, New York City until 1901, when it was bought and stored in a warehouse, the buyer hoping to keep its 'offensive' content from the public. Robert Sterling Clark discovered the piece in storage and acquired it in 1942. The piece is currently on display at the Clark Art Institute located in Williamstown, Massachusetts.
According to the Clark Institute, in the painting, which is based on the Greek mythology, "a group of nymphs have been surprised, while bathing in a secluded pond, by a lascivious satyr. Some of the nymphs have retreated into the shadows on the right; others, braver than their friends, are trying to dampen the satyr's ardor by pulling him into the cold water – one of the satyr's hooves is already wet and he clearly wants to go no further. Bouguereau’s working methods were traditional; he made a number of sketches and drawings of carefully posed human figures in complicated interconnected poses, linking them together in this wonderfully rhythmical composition." [4] [5]
The painting, the largest and one of the most beloved of the Clark collection, was cleaned prior to March 10, 2012, with the help of a grant from the Parnassus Foundation, courtesy of Jane and Raphael Bernstein. [6]
A nymph is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, landform, or tree, and are usually depicted as maidens. Because of their association with springs, they were often seen as having healing properties; other divine powers of the nymphs included divination and shapeshifting. Nymphs, like other goddesses, were immortal except for the Hamadryads, whose lives were bound to a specific tree.
In Greek mythology, a satyr, also known as a silenus or silenos, and sileni (plural), is a male nature spirit with ears and a tail resembling those of a horse, as well as a permanent, exaggerated erection. Early artistic representations sometimes include horse-like legs, but, by the sixth century BC, they were more often represented with human legs. Comically hideous, they have mane-like hair, bestial faces, and snub noses and they always are shown naked. Satyrs were characterized by their ribaldry and were known as lovers of wine, music, dancing, and women. They were companions of the god Dionysus and were believed to inhabit remote locales, such as woodlands, mountains, and pastures. They often attempted to seduce or rape nymphs and mortal women alike, usually with little success. They are sometimes shown masturbating or engaging in bestiality.
In Greek mythology, the Oceanids or Oceanides are the nymphs who were the three thousand daughters of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys.
In Greek mythology, Pitys was an Oread nymph who was pursued by Pan.
Pierre Auguste Cot was a French painter of the Academic Classicism school.
William-Adolphe Bouguereau was a French academic painter. In his realistic genre paintings, he used mythological themes, making modern interpretations of classical subjects, with an emphasis on the female human body. During his life, he enjoyed significant popularity in France and the United States, was given numerous official honors, and received top prices for his work. As the quintessential salon painter of his generation, he was reviled by the Impressionist avant-garde. By the early twentieth century, Bouguereau and his art fell out of favor with the public, due in part to changing tastes. In the 1980s, a revival of interest in figure painting led to a rediscovery of Bouguereau and his work. He finished 822 known paintings, but the whereabouts of many are still unknown.
L'Amour et Psyché, enfants is an oil painting executed by the French painter William Adolphe Bouguereau in 1890. It is currently in a private collection. It was displayed in the Salon of Paris in 1890, the year Bouguereau was President of the Société des Artistes Français. The painting features Greek mythological figures Eros and Psyché, sharing an embrace and kiss. Bouguereau was a classical-style painter in the Neoclassical era of art. The painting is characterized by the frothy background the figures delicately stand on. It depicts the beginning of the forbidden romance of Cupid and Psyche, a popular subject at the time of execution.
The Birth of Venus is one of the most famous paintings by 19th-century painter William-Adolphe Bouguereau. It depicts not the actual birth of Venus from the sea, but her transportation in a shell as a fully mature woman from the sea to Paphos in Cyprus. She is considered the epitome of the Classical Greek and Roman ideal of the female form and beauty, on par with Venus de Milo.
The Shepherdess, also known as The Little Shepherdess, is a painting by William-Adolphe Bouguereau completed in 1889. The title is taken from the Southern French dialect. The painting depicts an idyllic, pastoral scene of a lone young woman in peasant attire posed for the artist, balancing a stick across her shoulders, standing barefooted in the foreground. In the background are oxen grazing in a field.
The Young Shepherdess is an 1885 painting by the French painter William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825–1905). It is owned by the San Diego Museum of Art.
The Art Renewal Center (ARC) is a non-profit, educational organization, which hosts an online museum dedicated to realist art. The ARC was founded by New Jersey businessman, author, and art collector Fred Ross.
Charles-Amable Lenoir was a French painter. Like his mentor, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, he was an academic painter and painted realistic portraits as well as mythological and religious scenes. His artistic career was so prestigious that he won the Prix de Rome twice and was awarded the Légion d'honneur.
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Première rêverie, also known in English as Whisperings of Love, is a painting by nineteenth-century French artist William-Adolphe Bouguereau. The work was completed in 1889 and is held at the New Orleans Museum of Art.
Jupiter and Antiope is an oil painting by the French artist Antoine Watteau. It is also known as the Satyr and the Sleeping Nymph and was probably painted between 1714 and 1719. Intended to be placed over a doorway, today it hangs in the Musée du Louvre in Paris.
The Virgin with Angels, also known as The Song of the Angels is an oil painting executed in 1881 by the French artist William-Adolphe Bouguereau. Its dimensions are 213.4 × 152.4 cm. It is now in the Forest Lawn Museum in Glendale, California.
The Oreads is an oil painting by the French artist William-Adolphe Bouguereau, painted in 1902. Its dimensions are 236 × 182 cm.
The Omni Berkshire Place hotel is located at 21 East 52nd Street, near Madison Avenue, in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is owned and operated by Omni Hotels & Resorts. The hotel was also inducted into Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, in 2010.
Flora and Zephyr is a 1875 oil-on-canvas painting by the French artist William-Adolphe Bouguereau. It is one of the most famous paintings of the Musée des Beaux-Arts of Mulhouse, France. Its inventory number is D.75.1.50.
Nymph and Satyr is an oil on canvas painting by French painter Alexandre Cabanel, made in 1860. It is owned by the Musée d'Orsay, in Paris, but it is on loan in the Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille.