Friday, April 12, 2013

Bouguereau • Outoor / Indoor

William-Adolphe Bouguereau 
LE SOMMEIL

Bouguereau often painted reductions of his popular paintings, either for reproduction (safer to send to the engravers) or sales to collectors on smaller budgets. The reductions were painted by the Master, his assistants, or both. Quite often the reductions slightly differ from the original. Le Sommeil is a more drastic example.

Le Sommeil, 1864 oil on canvas 153.7 cm x 119.4 cm ~ William-Adolphe Bouguereau
(tear sheet scan)

William-Adolphe Bouguereau  Le Sommeil, 1866 oil on canvas 61.6 by 51.4 cm

The reduction has an interesting provenance entry: Theo van Gogh, 1866 (acquired from Goupil's Amsterdam branch). Theo would have only been 9 years old in 1866! Was the painting actually purchased by Vincent and Theo's father, Theodorus van Gogh? 
…and from the same Goupil** branch at which Vincent would later work ~


**Adolphe Goupil, father-in-law of Jean-Léon Gérôme



1 comment:

  1. larger file of reduction ~
    http://www.sothebys.com/content/dam/stb/lots/N08/N08989/105N08989_6MW8J.jpg

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