Fun Summer Project

 

When I look at old portraits, I wonder about the person in the portrait.  What kind of person they were, in some cases their name is unknown.  Here are some examples that I saw last week in a local antique store.  

Isn't this the cutest photograph of two little girls, lost in time.  Names unknown.

This painting intrigued me.  Did the Artist know the soldier, was he a family member or was the Artist just using a random photo.  The frame suggests around 1940.  Just a guess.  I'm intrigued though.

The back of the frame and make.

A popular style of painting.

Who was the child?

In my Artist statement I mention Adolphe-William Bouguereau and his models.

"I will never meet Bouguereaus’ young shepherdess or anyone who knew her but she has an identity in my heart."

Bouguereau is one of my favorite portrait artists and it's in my study of his work that I have noticed how one of the models he used looks a LOT like my grand daughter.   My husband and I saw an exhibit of Bouguereau's paintings in Memphis when this painting took us by surprise, as it looked just like our grand daughter

I have no proof but since this model also looks so much like our grand daughter at her present age I am willing to say it may possibly be the same model, just older.

  The Bohemian 1890

So for a summer project my grand daughter decided (with some prodding) to dress up like the model.  It was a bit of a rush as we just decided to do this the day before.  We borrowed a friend's violin (Thank you Jeannie) and got as close to the painting as we could under the circumstances.  It was a rush job and just for fun.

Not much is known about the model used for the paintings so we thought it would be a fun idea to continue her story.  I can't match Bouguereau's mastery but it's a fun project.  Can you picture the girl in his painting getting up and playing her violin?   The background in our new painting is not Notre-Dame Cathedral but Corpus Christi seawall.  

We will make sure and write our model/grand daughter's name on the back of this painting.

Are you looking to create a heirloom painting?

I am accepting commissions, it's what I love to do!