Hvem giftede sig med William Bouguereau?

William Adolphe Bouguereau, eller Adolphe-William Bouguereau (født 30. november 1825 i La Rochelle i Frankrig, død 19. august 1905 samme sted) var en fransk maler. Han anses som en mester indenfor den akademiske klassicisme og den klassiske realisme.

Han var elev af François-Édouard Picot og underviste selv flere elever, herunder Paul Émile Chabas og Peder Mørk Mønsted.

I sine realistiske genremalerier benyttede han sig ofte af mytologiske temaer med moderne tolkninger af klassiske emner, hvor han fremhævede kvindekroppen. I sin samtid opnåede han stor opmærksomhed, særlig i Frankrig og USA og modtog talrige æresbevisninger og solgte billeder til høje priser. Som den væsentligste salon-maler i sin generation, blev han hånet af den impressionistiske avantgarde.

Ved begyndelsen af 1900-tallet havde Bouguereau og hans kunst mistet sin tiltrækning og interesse hos publikum, idet den generelle smag inden for malerkunsten havde ændret sig. I1980'erne opstod imidlertid fornyet interesse for figurmaleri, hvilket førte til en genopdagelse af Bouguereau og hans værker. Han fuldførte 822 malerier, som er kendt for eftertiden. Mange malerier har en ukendt skæbne.

Elizabeth Jane Gardner Bouguereau (October 4, 1837 – January 28, 1922) was an American academic and salon painter, who was born in Exeter, New Hampshire. She was an American expatriate who died in Paris where she had lived most of her life. She studied in Paris under the figurative painter Hugues Merle (1823–1881), the well-known salon painter Jules Joseph Lefebvre (1836–1911), and finally under William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825–1905). After Bouguereau's wife died, Gardner became his paramour and after the death of his mother, who bitterly opposed the union, she married him in 1896. She adopted his subjects, compositions, and even his smooth facture, channeling his style so successfully that some of her work might be mistaken for his. In fact, she was quoted as saying, "I know I am censured for not more boldly asserting my individuality, but I would rather be known as the best imitator of Bouguereau than be nobody!"

Gardner's best known work may be The Shepherd David Triumphant (1895), which shows the young shepherd with the lamb he has rescued. Among her other works were Cinderella, Cornelia and Her Jewels, Corinne, Fortune Teller, Maud Muller, Daphnis and Chloe, Ruth and Naomi, The Farmer's Daughter, The Breton Wedding, and some portraits.