Bouguereau and students

“In the Studios of Paris: William Bouguereau ‘ His American Students” Through Oct. 14 The… “In the Studios of Paris: William Bouguereau ‘ His American Students” Through Oct. 14 The Frick Art and Historical Center 7227 Reynolds St. (412) 371-0600

Belying her unassuming title, “The Little Shepherdess” gazes defiantly from her pastoral landscape. The young beauty’s uncalloused hands and luminous skin speak of youth, but her self-assured stare and plump arms hint at a supple, blossoming maturity beneath her simple peasant couture.

“The Little Shepherdess” embodies the delicate mastery that made William Bouguereau one of the most successful 19th century painters. The Frick Art and Historical Center hosts the exhibition, “In the Studios of Paris: William Bouguereau ‘ His American Students” through Oct. 14, exploring the master’s legacy as an artist and instructor.

Organized by the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, Okla., the exhibition seeks to place the “The Little Shepherdess,” the Philbrook Museum’s “signature image” and “a favorite of the community,” according to Frick curator Sarah Hall, in the context of Bouguereau’s work and his influence as a teacher of American artists.

“In the Studios of Paris” features approximately 50 paintings, prints and sketches by a revered group of late 19th and early 20th century artists. In one of the largest assemblies of Bouguereau’s work, 12 pieces by the master are featured alongside the art of his American students: Elizabeth Jane Gardner, Minerva Chapman, Cecilia Beaux, Eanger Irving Couse, Anna Klumpke and Robert Henri.

Bouguereau’s paintings “Idyllic: A Family from Antiquity” and “The Virgin, The Infant Jesus and Saint John the Baptist” touch on the quintessential themes of Western art: antiquity idealized and Christian subject.

Bouguereau’s perfect composition, tonality and expression of the human form leave nothing to be desired in the way of aesthetic beauty, making each piece profound in its own right.

“No one paints like that anymore,” Hall said, remarking that Bouguereau’s technical virtuosity is offset and complemented by the work of his students, many of whom later embraced movements of impressionism, forsaking Bouguereau’s French academic style.

As an instructor at the Academie Julian in Paris, Bouguereau taught more than 200 American artists. “In the Studios of Paris” presents work teeming with Bouguereau’s influence as well as work that deviates from Bouguereau’s highly polished technique.

“[Bouguereau’s wife] Elizabeth Jane Gardner follows Bouguereau most lavishly,” Hall said.

The exhibit gives visitors the rare opportunity to view paintings by Gardner and Bouguereau side by side and attempt to differentiate the artists’ work. “In the Studios of Paris: William Bouguereau ‘ His American Students” offers viewers the opportunity to “just be completely bowled over,” as Hall puts it, by the perfection, beauty and skill of Bouguereau and his students. The exhibition offers an intensely satisfying look into a world of painting that has fallen by the wayside.