William Bouguereau

MySpace LayoutsAdolf-William Bouguereau was born in La Rochelle, France and studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. There Bouguereau won the Prix de Paris and was sent to Rome where he studied for four years at the Villa Medici, returning to Paris in 1854. William Bouguereau - he did not use his first name of Adolf - established himself as an artist and was able to command high prices for his work during his lifetime. His popularity during this period was greater in America and England than his native France.In 1856 Bouguereau married Marie-Nelly Monchablon and the couple had five children. In 1877 Nelly died, Bouguereau remarried American Elizabeth Jane Gardner in 1897. He received many honors during his lifetime, including the Grand Medal of Honor at the Salon, was named honorary member of the Belgian Society of Artists and made a member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Belgium in 1889. William Bouguereau died in La Rochelle on August 19, 1905 of heart disease.