Study Of A Woman’s Head 

Editor: This is "Study of a Woman’s Head" by William Bouguereau, and I must say it has a softness to it. How do you read into the artist’s choice of oil paint to portray the figure’s fair complexion? Curator: For me, it's intriguing to consider the material conditions of production surrounding Bouguereau's academic approach. Think about the specific pigments available, their cost, their source—how did this affect the way he depicted the female subject, likely constrained by social expectations regarding women in the production or consumption of this art? Editor: That’s fascinating, what impact did the material, like the oil itself, have on his process? Did it contribute to or possibly even limit, the visual style, the smooth finish, perhaps? Curator: Exactly. Consider also the labor involved in grinding pigments, preparing the canvas. Academic painting, seemingly timeless, actually involved a complex industrial system and the artist operated within the material confines dictated by wealth, and by his position within it, the oil becoming an almost invisible tool to him. How might our understanding shift if this were, say, a charcoal sketch done quickly on readily available paper? What meaning is conveyed by those industrial practices in conjunction with the way it may or may not deviate from common beauty standards? Editor: I never considered the economics embedded in each stroke. Thanks for helping me understand the relationship between process and product in this work. Curator: Precisely. And by questioning this process we come to reveal social standards around labor, value, and even gender during that historical moment.