Continuing with my Classical Reinterpretation series, we have The Madonna of the Lilies, by William-Adolphe Bouguereau.
Bouguereau was a French academic and traditional painter who lived from 1825 to 1905. While his style of work was rooted in realism, he often painted classical characters with religious or mythical origins, with an emphasis on the female form. He was well known in his lifetime and enjoyed incredible fame throughout France and the United States, but as time went on, his popularity faltered as art and taste changed and he faded into obscurity. It wasn't until the 1980's that he was rediscovered. In his lifetime, he completed just under a thousand paintings, but to this day, many of the final pieces are still missing.
Painted in 1899, The Madonna of the Lilies, plays on religious themes, depicitng the Madonna and child, a famous Catholic depiction. The painting is one of Bouguereau's less famous works, he was known for his depiction of The Birth of Venus and a number of female nudes. However, I've always liked this depiction of the Madonna and child, specifically because of the contrast between the Madonna's dark clothes and the rest of the painting.
Today, the painting is part of a private collection.
And here is my interpretation of the painting:
Of all my recreations, this one is the most different from the original. First of all, I ended up making it landscape rather than portrait, just because... I couldn't seem to fit everything in naturally in a portrait orientation. I also wasn't one hundred percent pleased with final image, I had a lot of trouble with the background and tried numerous pictures, but I ended up using an oil pastel piece I drew a couple years before.
There's something about the lilies that I'm not too fond of either, I think they're too big and out of place, but when I made them smaller, they just didn't fit too well... so... of all my images, this one was sort of a compromise. But I did what I could with it.
I do really like the Madonna and child though. My sister Christine modelled for me again and brought in her daughter Everly to play the part of baby Jesus. And she's just so cute as little Jesus. Look at that face!
I also really liked the halos I created. They were recycled halos from another picture of Christine and Everly, and I choose to reuse those ones rather than mimic the halos from the original piece. I just thought it'd be a nice nod to that other image. Just so y'all can see it, I'll post it below.
Next, I'll be talking about the Mona Lisa.
If you're interested in seeing other photos in this series, you can find them here.
------------
And, you can check out my debut novel, The Children of Gods and Monsters, in the Amazon store here.
#madonnaofthelilies #williamadolphebouguereau #bouguereau #christianity #canada #ontario #painting #oilpaint #classicalart #bible #finearts #canadianphotography #art #artwork #durhamcollege #famousartwork #fineartphotography #canadianphotographer #famousartwork #christianchurch #interpretation #photography #composite #recreation