Oil on canvas, stretched and ready to hang.

Signed on the front.

This oil painting is a cropped and scaled down study of Bouguereau's masterful Virgin and Child painting, which was acquired by the Art Gallery of South Australia in 1899.

The original work by William Adolphe Bouguereau depicts the Virgin Mary, clothed in a dark dress with gold trim and seated against a backdrop of rich gold cloth, holding the infant Jesus on her lap. Although this painting dates from the nineteenth century (1888), it is strongly reminiscent of devotional religious art from the medieval period. Mary’s downcast gaze and the use of gold circles to represent halos recreate more specific motifs that were common in medieval representations of the Madonna and Child.

Bouguereau was a master colourist who breathed life into the flesh tones of his figures with great precision and subtlety. Much can be learned by studying the works of artists who have gone before, and can be applied to contemporary arts practice.

Please note, this listing is for the unframed work.