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Source Description
The whereabouts of "The Cherry Picker" had been unknown to specialists for the better part of the 20th century. Painted at the height of the artist's early maturity, this painting, a gift of two local Baltimore residents, filled a gap in the Walters' otherwise comprehensive collection of French academic painting.Bouguereau's early training included all of the rigors associated with the great tradition of academic Classicism. The time he spent in Italy on a scholarship after winning the much coveted Prix de Rome in 1850 provided the foundation for his mature style: a blend of classicizing idealism based on the Renaissance masters, who he revered, combined with an anecdotal updating that makes his figures seem both timeless and yet approachable. Popular taste, however, encouraged him to make the switch from subjects drawn from classical history to scenes of everyday life. This painting is a prime example of the type of picture for which Bouguereau would become so famous, especially in America.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
77251
label
The Cherry Picker
core
obj
dtoType
drawing
citationUrl
pageCount
2
Source metadata
id
77251
sourceUrl
contentType
drawing
stage
normalized
title
The Cherry Picker
description
The whereabouts of "The Cherry Picker" had been unknown to specialists for the better part of the 20th century. Painted at the height of the artist's early maturity, this painting, a gift of two local Baltimore residents, filled a gap in the Walters' otherwise comprehensive collection of French academic painting.Bouguereau's early training included all of the rigors associated with the great tradition of academic Classicism. The time he spent in Italy on a scholarship after winning the much coveted Prix de Rome in 1850 provided the foundation for his mature style: a blend of classicizing idealism based on the Renaissance masters, who he revered, combined with an anecdotal updating that makes his figures seem both timeless and yet approachable. Popular taste, however, encouraged him to make the switch from subjects drawn from classical history to scenes of everyday life. This painting is a prime example of the type of picture for which Bouguereau would become so famous, especially in America.
provenance
Adolphe Goupil, Paris, September 12, 1871, by purchase [from the artist]; Samuel P. Avery, New York, December 12, 1871, by purchase; William B. Bement, Philadelphia [presumably purchased from Avery]; William B. Bement Estate Sale, American Art Galleries, New York, 1899, lot 135; Emerson McMillin, New York, 1899, by purchase; Estate Sale of Emerson McMillin, American Art Galleries, New York, January 20 and 23, 1913, lot 216; Thomas E. Finger Gallery, New York, 1913, by purchase; American Art Galleries, Plaza Art Galleries, New York, March 26, 1943, lot 14; George Brent Dorsey (father of Dorothy Dorsey Bair), Baltimore, 1943, by purchase; Dorothy D. Bair and Robert R. Bair, Baltimore, by inheritance; Walters Art Museum, 2008-2011, by gift.
date
1871
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Painting & Drawing
paintings
imageCount
2
pageCount
2
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
130.5
height
88.3
dimensionsRaw
H: 51 3/8 x W: 34 3/4 in. (130.49 x 88.27 cm); H: 67 1/8 × W: 50 3/8 × D: 5 1/2 in. (170.5 × 128 × 14 cm)
Source extras
inscriptions
[Signature] At lower left: W-BOVGVEREAV-1871
med
oil on canvas
creator_ids
4773
collection_ids
EAN
exhibition_ids
3300
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
da26593f347d8d54
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
e6c3e5991edbe723
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no