The Elder Sister, reduction (La soeur aînée, réduction)
William Bouguereau
European Art
An academic painter who had achieved great success in the Paris Salon with mythological, historical, and religious subjects, Bouguereau later turned to genre scenes such as this image of a young woman caring for her younger brother. Although the figures are defined as siblings in the title, Bouguereau evokes the Madonna and Child with a tender pose—much like that seen in the altarpieces on the opposite wall—and the Catholic rosary beads in the child’s hand. Moreover, scholars have linked Bouguereau’s composition and the dark, dreamy look of the girl to the Sistine Madonna by Raphael. Bouguereau’s works appealed to a middle-class clientele—both French and American—that cherished Christian and domestic values. This “reduction” is one of at least two known versions that Bouguereau painted after a larger subject displayed in the Salon of 1867.
MEDIUM
Oil on panel
DATES
ca. 1864
DIMENSIONS
21 7/8 x 17 15/16 in. (55.6 x 45.6 cm)
Frame: 29 3/4 x 25 1/2 x 4 1/2 in. (75.6 x 64.8 x 11.4 cm)
(show scale)
SIGNATURE
Signed lower right on chest: "W Bouguereau"
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
ACCESSION NUMBER
21.99
CREDIT LINE
Bequest of William H. Herriman
RIGHTS STATEMENT
No known copyright restrictions
This work may be in the public domain in the United States. Works created by United States and non-United States nationals published prior to 1923 are in the public domain, subject to the terms of any applicable treaty or agreement.
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this work. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online
application form (charges apply).
The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties, such as artists or artists' heirs holding the rights to the work. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act.
The Brooklyn Museum makes no representations or warranties with respect to the application or terms of any international agreement governing copyright protection in the United States for works created by foreign nationals.
For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the
United States Library of Congress,
Cornell University,
Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and
Copyright Watch.
For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our
blog posts on copyright.
If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact
copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
CAPTION
William Bouguereau (French, 1825-1905). The Elder Sister, reduction (La soeur aînée, réduction), ca. 1864. Oil on panel, 21 7/8 x 17 15/16 in. (55.6 x 45.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of William H. Herriman, 21.99 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 21.99_PS9.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 21.99_PS9.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2015
"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
RECORD COMPLETENESS
Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and
we welcome any additional information you might have.