The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-08-21
BOUGUEREAU IS DEAD.
Famous French Painter Expires From
Heart Trouble at Age of so.

Paris. Aug. 21.-An announcement has
been received here of the death at La
Rochelle of William Adolph Bouguer-
eau, the painter. The news was receiv-
ed with universal regret in the Ameri-
can colony, where M. Bouguereau was
greatly respected.
M. Bouguereau had been a. sufferer
| from heart disease the last two years
and this was aggravated three months
ago by a shock to his nervous system,
sustained by burglary in his Paris
residence. At the end of July the paint
er went to La Rochelle, his birthplace.
and had been bedridden since. Despite
his weakness caused by the illness, M.
Bouguereau retained consciousness un-
til the end. He called for a notary
Saturday night and made final DISPOSE
ton of his estate. He died at midnight
surrounded by his family The burial
will be at Mont Parnasse cemetery.
Paris, Wednesday,. NJ. Bouguereau mar
ried an American woman, Elizabeth j.
Gardner. 49,
For more than D. years William
Adolph sBouguefeau was conspicuous
| figure in the art world of Paris. and per-
haps artist of modern > times was
| more widely known and appreciated
outside of his own country, through the
numerous reproductions of his works,
| which, while possessing all the merits
| of true art, have also the happy faculty
of appearing to the popular taste every
where AS a delineator Of children he
had few equals, and he gave proof,
throughout his long career, of a re-
markable fecundity and gracefulness of
| invention, enhanced by knowledge,
taste and refinement.
He was a member of the institute and
| officer of the Legion of Honor. His stu
! dio was in Paris, where he was sur
rounded by a coterie of earnest stud
ents; in fact, several of the most prom
ising American painters studied under
| William AdoIph Bouguereau was born
| in La Rochelle in 1925. As a child in
| the schools of Paris he showed a. re-
markable aptitude for drawing, but his
father discouraged any artistic tenden
| cies that might have entered the lads
mind, and when he had finished his
classics placed him in business house
| in Bordeaux The young man was de-
termined to be an artist. He mayed
to save enough from His earnings to at
tend for two hours day the drawing
class of M. Aloux.
| At the end of a year he succeeded i'll
| winning the prize for which he had
struggled. This seal set upon his talents
determined his career. He gave up his
position and then announced to his
| father his decision to be a painter. The
progress of the young artist was rapid.
| In 1S48 he obtained the second grand
prix, and two years later he carried off
| the grand prize of Rome. The subject
| was a trying one, and one that tested
/ the full strength of the young student
.tZenobia Discovered on the Shores of
/ Araxe."
His first canvas from Rome. entitled
| IAN Idyl," was favorab1y noticed by
French critics. His last canvas, THE
Body of st. Cecilia Borne to the Cate
| combs,'' is even now considered one of
| the best works of the artist A large
canvas exhibited in 1856, entitled The
Emperor Visiting the Inundated District
of Tarascon," won for Bouguereau the
coveted medal of the first class A year
| later he exhibited the Return of
Tobias now in the Museum of Dion.
In 1859 his canvas, 'tAll Souls Day"
aroused so deep an enthusiasm that he
| was offered the Gross of Honor" This
canvas was exhibited with a Bacchante
| in 1867 at the Champs de Mars.
Among the principal paintings of
Bouguereau are: THE Mater Attic
torum,'' which was bought by the
/ government; 1.-THE Birth of Venus also
the property of the state; "Pieta," be-
i longing to Prince Defnidoff; 'The vir-
GIN 1.-The Infant Jesus and est. John
the Baptist" Charity Homer and His
Guide 'tOrestes Pursued by the
Furies,' presented to the Pennsylvania
Academy of Fine Arts by Mrs. Joseph
Harrison; "On the Way to the Bath,''
and Rest During Harvest
Mime. Bouguereau is herself an artist
of exceptional ability. NJ. Bouguereau
and Miss Gardner were engaged more
than nineteen years. The mother of the
famous French artist objected to his
marrying an American woman, conse-
quently the couple remained unmarried
until after the death of the elder Nine
/ Bouguereau. The master was not slow
to discover the talent of his American
pupil, and she has fulfilled his highest
expectations She received honorable
mention at the salon of 1879 and in 1887
4 the French honored her with a gold
medal