Very few famous artists have been fortunate enough to both set the trend in art collecting and strongly influence it.  Nineteenth century master William Adolphe Bouguereau was such an artist, in that his precise and classic Academic style was celebrated in Europe and the United States as the highest reflection of artistic culture.   Much of what made Bouguereau a cultural icon of his era can be seen in his 1862 painting, “Orestes Pursued by the Furies”.

Trained in France and, after achieving some success, in Italy, Bouguereau was a pure classicist throughout his long career, as both the subject matter and the style of this painting reveals.  The classical school invariably used mythological or Biblical subjects and scenes, and the cause is obvious; Greek and Roman mythology alone held a vast store of rich, sensational material and characters from which to draw upon, and the Christian ethics of the day could easily be woven into the scenarios. “Orestes” is something of a minor departure for Bouguereau, in that the central character is male.  Typically, his work employed female subjects, which he painted in the lavish and realistic style of Raphael. It seems, however, that he was drawn to the intense passion of the subject, and in his capturing of it Bouguereau fed the era’s social desire to exalt ancient traditions and complex histories as presented in Greek drama, expressed in exquisite painting and stunning color.

In the nineteenth century, there was an unparalleled appreciation for classicism occurring in Europe and in the United States. Any art work that was related to antiquity, and particularly to ancient Greek and Roman culture, was prized because more than one purpose was being fulfilled in extolling it. The art itself would be extravagant and beautiful, as all of Bouguereau’s paintings are, and the subjects of the paintings indicated that the owners were intellectual, and had a powerful sense of cultural aesthetics and historical significance. Impressionism had yet to be born, when Bouguereau’s fame grew;  when it became prominent, it would cause his name to disappear for many years. Until then, however, his work, bringing the ancient past gorgeously to life in opulent realism, was the standard for brilliance because, to the cultures of the day, it was both art and education.

Because of this aspect, Bouguereau enjoyed particular acclaim in the United States, where the newly wealthy American industrial giants were eager to prove how sophisticated they were.  His paintings figure in the novels of Edith Wharton, who captures the ways and ambitions of this elite class in New York.  What was European was elegant and cultured, and owning an expensive Bouguereau was proof of the very best taste.  This was art as mark of status, both decorative and there to make a very definite point, and it carried over into how this class lived and raised their children: “The arts were ornamental subjects in the education of young ladies and gentlemen.  Artistic accomplishments…demonstrated good taste and ideal values, knowledge and skill” (Stankiewicz 324).  When an owner of “Orestes” entertained, he or she was no longer merely a rich American because the painting made it clear that the household aspired to highest standards of taste.

This consideration aside, it is important to note that another element made Bouguereau the sensation he became: sheer brilliance.  As an Academician, he followed all the traditions of form, face, and detail the school encouraged, but Bouguereau brought something more to the canvas.  In the “Orestes” painting, there is a power of expression no mere technician could create; each face is potently alive.   This genius goes to why Bouguereau enabled the trend in classical art from which he profited.  Very simply, his work was so good that it enlarged the existing demand to new levels, and gave the classical school a new generation of followers.   Ironically, the talent of the artist went beyond even the most superficial reasons for people wanting to own the work.  It became fashionable and desired because it expressed European tradition and indicated a scholarly appreciation of Greek and Roman classics, but the greater reality was that the art itself was more than enough evidence of exquisite taste.

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