Saturday, August 6, 2011

The Young Shepherdess

William Bouguereau was a late 19th century French artist, known for his exceptional skill in rendering the human form and beautiful flesh tones. Highly prolific, he painted over 800 works, including many genre portraits and classically inspired figures.

Reproducing the work of an Old Master is a long standing tradition in academic art teaching. By studying the techniques of the Masters, the artist hopes to improve her skills of observation, composition, and handling of the paint. I recently completed a reproduction of Bouguereau's "Young Shepherdess" (1868), shown below.

                                      The Young Shepherdess, after Wm. Bouguereau (1868)
                                              by  Kelly Mann    oil on canvas    12"x16"  2011