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La Vierge Aux Anges, 1881. 83 7/8 x 59 7/8 inches. Oil on canvas. (Image courtesy of the Museum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, CA, USA)
William Bouguereau (1825-1905), although well known for his paintings of peasant girls and mythological scenes, has also become one of the most beloved religious painters of all time. As a devout catholic, Bouguereau, as so many other religious painters, viewed his work as a form of worship both of God and of his most beloved creation, mankind. Bouguereau’s love of Christ can be clearly seen in his religious paintings for which he took no short cuts and spared no time and dedication in creating. In the weeks leading up to the holidays, it seems an appropriate time to revisit some of these most important religious works.
Vierge Aux Anges, Song of Angels, 1881, hangs at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park, CA, USA. It became re-appreciated from an exhibition at the Getty Museum, where the full size masterpiece was hung next to the reduction. The precision of the perfect copy, also one hundred percent by Bouguereau, and the overall power of both pieces, became one of the most popular exhibitions the Getty had ever had. The serene Mary and baby Jesus sleep, surrounded by nature, as three angels play them a lullaby. All the figures are painted with beautiful, ethereal, perfection. When Bouguereau painted a series of angels, he usually used the same figure multiple times. In the Pieta, 1876, the eight angels are only two different individuals, and in Regina Angelorum, 1900, all twenty-one angels are the same girl. Song of Angels is no different. Bouguereau strived for perfection and would often use the hands of one model, the eyes of another, hair from yet a third, etc. In his religious works and his depictions of the holy, he took extra care in finding a compelling human image that could capture the divine, and once he found what he wanted, he did not stray. I believe this was also a statement on the nature of the divine; that a holy presence may feel as powerful as the souls of many, but in truth, it is one power. The three angels in Vierge Aux Anges are also a foreshadowing of the nature of the holy trinity, and are representative of the father, the son and the holy ghost. The mother and child sleep in peace unaware of the suffering that is destined to follow.
The Flagellation, 1880. 153 1/2 x 85 5/8 inches. Oil on canvas. (Image courtesy of the Baptistery of La Rochelle Cathedral, France)
The Flagellation of Christ, 1880 is one of Bouguereau’s masterpieces, and today hangs at the Baptistery of La Rochelle Cathedral, France. Christ, tied to a column, limply hangs, his feet dragging on the ground and head hung back, he submits to his fate. Two men stand in mid swing with their whipping ropes, with a third kneeling to the lower right fastening birch branches for the next stage of the torture. Unlike the two men who are whipping or the forth man standing behind with birch branches in the ready, the kneeling man tying the branches appears to show some remorse for his actions as his hand muscles loosen slightly with the pull of the string. The viewer can feel the pain of Christ’s torment, though his eyes are vacant of expression as if his soul is in another place. The crowd surrounding this event is filled with curious spectators. To the left, a young boy shelters his eyes from the horrid sight by turning his back and pressing himself against his mother. To the right, just above Christ’s head, a baby looks down at him sympathetically while hoisted up on his father’s shoulders. Through the crowd, a bearded man looks directly at the viewer, thereby pulling the audience into the scene as if they are too part of the crowd. It is possible that this bearded man with furrowed brow is a self portrait, so both Bouguereau and the viewer are witnessing this scene. This life size capa d’opera is every bit as magnificent as any religious works done by Raphael, Caravaggio, or Velasquez. The harmonious interplay of drawing, paint handling, composition, perspective and emotional thrust are second to none in their expressive power.
The Compassion, 1897. 110 1/4 x 51 1/8 inches. Oil on canvas. (Image courtesy of the Art Renewal Center)
When one looks at The Compassion, 1897, at first glance the viewer may interpret this painting be simply a depiction of Christ on the Cross, with perhaps another saint, or victim. A depiction not too different from thousands of other paintings of the subject; but in fact, the subject of this painting is not simply the event, but the conversion to Christianity through the compassion for the sacrifice Jesus made. The man with his head on Jesus’ chest is a representation of every man and mankind as a whole. The man in the painting shows the same empathy and baring his own symbolic cross, has found his way to Jesus and his own redemption. Many Christians wear crosses around their necks to represent the same conviction, that they too have been sacrificed with Christ. In the bible, when Jesus fell on his way to Calvary, a man from the crowd, Simon of Cyrene, went to Jesus and carried the cross for him, which was the inspiration for this widely accepted symbol . The blood of Christ falls onto his hands, reiterating the blood sacrifice that was made for his benefit. On top of the cross a letter is posted which reads “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews” in three languages, Greek, Latin, and Aramaic. Although in many depictions, Christ is crucified at the top of a mountain, Bouguereau chooses to depict the savior on a barren wasteland, symbolic of the man’s spiritual life before finding his way to Christ. Bouguereau chose to keep this painting, which shows the importance his religion played in his own life, and it remained in his studio until its recent donation to the Musèe D’Orsay, Paris, France.
Next: The Pietà, 1876, provides a very unique depiction of this most famous of imagery.
