William Bouguereau and Studio

Goupil, Paris (acquired directly from the artist in July 1881, no. 15571)
Samuel P. Avery, New York (acquired from the above in May 1883)
Knoedler, New York (by October 1943, no. A26601)
Sigmund Ojerkis, Atlantic City (by 1946)
Hammer Galleries, New York (by November 1950)
Sale: Christie's, New York, May 2, 1979, lot 56 (as The Water Nymph)
Private Collection, New Jersey
Sale: Sotheby's, New York, May 7, 1998, lot 47, illustrated
Sale: Sotheby's, New York, October 26, 2004, lot 76, illustrated
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Hartford, The Wadsworth Atheneum, The Nude in Art, 1946, no. 7 (loaned by Sigmund Ojerkis)

The artist's accounts
Charles Vendryès, Dictionnaire illustré des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 1885, p. 62 (as Réduction de l'aurore)
Ludovic Baschet, Catalogue illustré des oeuvres de W. Bouguereau, Paris, 1889, pp. 61-2, 65 (as Réduction de L'aurore)
Marius Vachon, W. Bouguereau, Paris, 1900, p. 154 (as L'Aurore. Réduction)
Mark Steven Walker, "A Summary Catalogue of the Paintings," in William-Adolphe Bouguereau: L'art pompier, exh. cat., Borghi & Co., New York, 1991, p. 71
Damien Bartoli with Fred Ross, William Bouguereau, Catalogue Raisonné of his Painted Work, New York, 2010, p. 205, no. 1881/01A, illustrated

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: This painting has been fairly recently restored. It can be hung in its current condition. The canvas is lined and the paint layer is clean and retouched. Under ultraviolet light there is some fairly broad retouching that has been applied throughout the sky. These retouches extend into the fabric wrapped around the figure and into the figure itself. It seems that these retouches were employed to eliminate cracking and abrasion. Although there may be a structural damage, none are readily identifiable. It seems that perhaps the work has been quite abraded and may have weakened over time, requiring consistent, albeit accurate, retouches throughout. The actual condition is not impressive, even though the picture looks well.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Following the success of Naissance de Vénus (1879, Musée d'Orsay, Paris), Bouguereau embarked upon a series of four panels representing the hours of the day, which took him four years to complete.  They comprise L'aurore, (Dawn, 1881, Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama), Le crepuscule (Dusk, 1882, Cuban National Museum, Havana), La nuit (Night, 1883, Hillwood Museum, Washington, D.C.), and Le jour (Day, untraced).  L'aurore was the first of three in the series to be exhibited at the Paris Salon and its particular popularity is suggested by the present work, a reduction of the subject, several finely finished drawings, and an etching, the only one the artist attempted himself (Bartoli, pp. 204-4).  Allegorical works like L'aurore captured the public's imagination with the writer Edouard Thierry eloquently expressing its appeal: "M. Bouguereau does not conceive art without grace or grace without decency, and I congratulate him for it....  L'aurore is a nimble figure, half nude, half enveloped by a veil which plays in the air.  She does not fly, she does not walk, but glides upon the surface of a body of calm water, still quiet, and without causing any ripples.  The water remains like a mirror, a mirror barely tarnished by a little morning mist, and to the surface of this mirror rises the reflection of a twin toe coming to caress the other.  As she glides along, the goddess graciously inclines her head towards an arum flower which she approaches with her lips, and sips the dew from the white porcelain cone.  All this is of very pure taste, and beautifully drawn" (as quoted in Baschet, p. 62).  The trumpet like blossom of the arum flowers or calla lilies, as they are more commonly known, are a particularly apt choice for this allegory of the new day as they have long served as a symbol of rebirth and resurrection.

The well-modeled body and complicated pose of the beautiful maiden are striking in their sculptural qualities, providing the sense of a real observation of a mystical figure.  Such technique may have been informed by Bouguereau's regular visits to the studio of sculptor Guillaume Fulconis (1851-1913).  The artist also enjoyed a close close friendship with sculptor Francisque-Joseph Duret (1804-65, perhaps best remembered for Paris' Fontaine Saint-Michel, representing that saint wrestling with Satan), who mentored Bouguereau during his early years at the Instuit.  Bouguereau often took inspiration from the marbles of Charles-Auguste Arnaud, Joseph Pollet and Jean-Antoin-Marie Idrac, recreating or reinterpreting them in his compositions.

Bouguereau's studio, which included accomplished artists Pierre August Cot, Alfred Henri Bramtot, and Gustave Doyen, participated extensively in the painting of the reduced versions of his Salon works after 1870. However, Bouguereau always maintained rigid control over his studio, applying the final touches to his works before signing them. In many cases it is almost impossible to differentiate between those areas of the canvas painted by Bouguereau and those worked on by his students, particularly since before adding his signature to any work, the artist would make any corrections he felt were necessary to make the reduction an accurate copy of the original.  Records indicate that L'aurore (reduction) was sold through Goupil's gallery in 1881 acquired directly from the artist as was the reduction of Le crepuscule (sold in these rooms in October 1990).