Wave 1896

William Bouguereau painted this nude, entitled Wave, with oil on canvas, sometime in the 19th century. Bouguereau employed the academic painting technique, known for its smooth, almost photographic finish. This involved meticulous layering and blending of paints to create a seamless surface, obscuring any trace of the artist's hand. It was a time-consuming and highly skilled process, demanding years of training. Note the way that this technique creates the sensuous curves of the figure. At the time, such painting was considered the apex of artistic achievement, valued for its illusionistic qualities and capacity to evoke classical ideals. Yet, the very smoothness that made it so admired also distanced it from the labor-intensive processes of craft. By effectively hiding its making, the work seemed to transcend the material world, aspiring instead to the realm of pure beauty and idealized form. Although, the painting looks pretty straightforward, the process of its making opens into a complex world of artistic intention and social meaning.