Elizabeth Jane Gardner Bouguereau (Exeter, New Hampshire, 1837 - Paris, 1922) was an American academic and salon painter, who was born in Exeter, New Hampshire.
She was an American expatriate who died in Paris where she had lived most of her life.
She studied in Paris under the figurative painter Hugues Merle (1823-1881), the well-known salon painter Jules Joseph Lefebvre (1836-1911), and finally under William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905).
After Bouguereau's wife died, Gardner became his paramour and after the death of his mother, who bitterly opposed the union, she married him in 1896.
She adopted his subjects, compositions, and even his smooth facture, channeling his style so successfully that some of her work might be mistaken for his.
In fact, she was quoted as saying, "I know I am censured for not more boldly asserting my individuality, but I would rather be known as the best imitator of Bouguereau than be nobody!"
Gardner's best known work may be The Shepherd David Triumphant (1895), which shows the young shepherd with the lamb he has rescued.
Among her other works were Cinderella, Cornelia and Her Jewels, Corinne, Fortune Teller, Maud Muller, Daphnis and Chloe, Ruth and Naomi, The Farmer's Daughter, The Breton Wedding and some portraits.
Career
Soon after Gardner arrived in Paris with her former teacher, Imogene Robinson, she began copying pictures at the Luxembourg Museum, and Gardner's studio became a place where Americans requested commissioned copies of their favorite European paintings.
In a letter to her brother, Gardner noted, "Americans are buying many pictures.
I have always had the satisfaction of pleasing those for whom I have painted. One gentleman was so satisfied with a copy I did for him that he paid me more than I asked".
She briefly studied with Jean-Baptiste-Ange Tissier before leaving in 1865 to join an independent cooperative women's studio.
In 1868, Gardner was the first American woman to exhibit at the Paris Salon.
Also during that time period, her paintings were accepted in 25 Paris Salons.
Gardner Bouguereau's works were accepted to the Salon more than any other woman painter in history and more than all but a few of the men.
The biggest challenge to her training was the restriction on women studying anatomy from nude models.
She circumvented this restriction by donning male attire to gain admittance to the all-male drawing school at Manufacture Nationale des Gobelins et de la Savonnerie.
In 1873, Gardner was finally admitted to the previously all-male Académie Julian, where she studied with Jules-Joseph Lefebvre and Bouguereau.
Gardner exhibited her work at the Palace of Fine Arts and The Woman's Building at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois. | Source: © Wikipedia
Elizabeth Jane Gardner (Exeter, 4 ottobre 1837 - Parigi, 22 gennaio 1922) è stata una pittrice Statunitense.
Nata nel New Hampshire, Elisabeth Gardner, giovanetta di buona famiglia, ricevette le prime nozioni di disegno e di acquarello nel Collegio di Lasell, dove fece amicizia con la sua insegnante d'arte, la pittrice Imogene Robinson.
Quando costei partì per l'Europa, Elizabeth proseguì gli studi a Boston.
Ben presto, però, si rese conto che le occorreva una formazione più qualificata; partì quindi per Parigi, dove raggiunse la Robinson nel 1864.
Studiò con Ange Tissier, Hugues Merle, Jules Joseph Lefebvre ed infine con William-Adolphe Bouguereau.
Elizabeth fu la prima pittrice statunitense ad esporre al Salon de Paris nel 1866 e la prima a meritare una medaglia d'oro nel 1872.
Quando Bouguereau rimase vedovo, Elizabeth ne divenne l'amante, osteggiata fermamente da sua madre.
Scomparsa anche quest'ultima nel 1896, ella sposò Bouguereau, avendo costui 71 anni e lei 59.
Questa relazione e la conseguente unione furono oggetto di molti commenti negli ambienti artistici parigini.
Ma la Gardner, donna di carattere indipendente e lucida amministratrice della propria vita, non diede mai importanza ai vari giudizi che si davano di lei.
Fu invece particolarmente influenzata dalla pittura del marito, al punto che certe sue opere sembrerebbero eseguite da lui.
E una volta ella ammise persino: «Preferisco essere considerata come la migliore imitatrice di Bouguereau, piuttosto che essere nessuno».
Rimasta vedova nel 1905, Elizabeth dipinse ancora quattro tele importanti, poi, gravata da pesanti forme reumatiche, smise ogni attività artistica.
Morì ottantacinquenne a Parigi, dove, in fondo, era sempre vissuta. | Fonte: © Wikipedia
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