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William-Adolphe Bouguereau (French, 1825-1905), Whisperings of Love, 1889. Oil on canvas. New Orleans Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Chapman H. Hyams.
Most of Bouguereau’s Salon pictures are nudes, religious subjects, and figures from classical history or mythology. Whisperings of Love is more of a genre piece, executed in the highly finished, realistic style of the “Neo-Greeks.” Historical authenticity is attempted with the Greek chiton and the protogeometric amphora. The reduced color range and the idealized beauty of the young woman are noted characteristics of Bouguereau’s later style. The sentimentality of the artist, so highly regarded by some and criticized by others, is expressed here through the large, searching eyes of the maiden. She appears vulnerable, yet somehow receptive, to the amorous stirrings aroused by the whispers of the playful cupid.
