Virgin with Lily paperweight by William-Adolphe BouguereauGlassDiameter 8 cmWilliam-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905) William Bouguereau was born in La Rochelle, France.Although destined to work in the family's wine and olive oil business, his artistic talent came to light early on. One of his father's clients convinced the latter to send him to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Bordeaux. He subsequently continued his studies at the Academie Julian in Paris. Bouguereau worked in the academic tradition of naturalist genre paintings and during his lifetime his depictions of mythological themes were very popular. Many saw him as the greatest artist of his era.
