Assault 1898

William Bouguereau painted "Assault" with oil on canvas some time in the late nineteenth century. Here we see a woman fending off a crowd of winged children. Bouguereau was a central figure in the French academic painting tradition. The “academy” was an official institution that controlled artistic training, exhibition, and patronage. It prized figurative painting with classical or historical themes. Bouguereau’s smooth, polished style made him famous, but by the end of the 19th century, this kind of painting was being challenged by the avant-garde. Think of Impressionism, which rejected the academy's standards. Given the painting's title, we might ask if the artist is commenting on the shifting place of the academy within French society. Perhaps the woman represents the established artistic tradition, while the cupids represent the unruly forces of modernity? It is possible to examine Bouguereau’s place in the art world through archival documents from the period. Ultimately, considering an artist’s institutional positioning adds another layer to our understanding of the work.