I know that quite a few people will be heading to Oxford this month as classes begin at Miami University.
While in town, I would advise anyone to visit the Miami University Art Museum, which was designed by Walter Netsch of Chicago-based Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP and is situated on three acres of scenic sculpture park grounds. I asked museum Director Robert Wicks to select a painting that will be on view this year and is a favorite of his.
He chose Young Girl Seated on a Ledge (1899, oil on canvas) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905).
“This is a particularly appealing painting for me, in part because it reminds me of my own daughter as a young girl. She is barefoot yet clothed in a cream white lace dress, her body lit from the side by the sun. She holds a yellow ball, partially hidden behind her. At the same time, she looks wistfully off into the near distance, at what or whom we cannot know. Perhaps she is just thinking,” says Wicks. “Her face does not reveal a smile. I especially like the ambiguity of this painting because it makes the viewer ask questions about the work that can never be answered. I am also attracted to Bouguereau’s wonderfully descriptive brushstrokes and his masterful use of light. It is a painting that constantly reveals something new to me. “
Bouguereau was a hugely successful artist and an influential teacher at the Academie Julian in Paris. Henri Matisse (1869-1954) was a student.
As a painter, Bouguereau’s aim was to conceal his process in such a way that the surface is often very smooth. If you have never seen a Bouguereau in person, you are in for a treat when you do, as they have an uncanny sense of a third dimension. Despite his production of over 800 paintings, Bourgureau’s work is not easy to find in this part of the country.
Miami University Art Museum's fall exhibitions include two semester-long installations:
- -Revealing the Light Within: The Healing Powers of Expressive Arts Therapy, Aug. 26-Dec. 6
- -Faces of Freedom Summer: The Photographs of Herbert Randall, Sept. 2-Dec. 6
Nationally renowned local artist Michael McEwan teaches painting and drawing classes at his Clintonville area studio.
CREDIT: William-Adolphe Bouguereau (French, 1825-1905) A Young Girl Seated on a Ledge, 1899. Oil on canvas. Gift of the Ruder-Bever Family. Miami University Art Museum, 2008.11.
