Adolphe-William Bouguereau (1825-1905) was born in La Rochelle, the son of a wine merchant. He entered the Paris School of Fine Arts in 1846, and became a professor there in 1888; in 1876 he was named to the Academy of Fine Arts. He was very successful among American art collectors. His work was so closely associated with the Paris Salon that the painter Cézanne called it the “Bouguereau Salon,” which was not intended as a compliment.
