Study of a seated woman

A native of La Rochelle, Bouguereau first studied in Bordeaux but soon moved to Paris to complete his academic training at the École des Beaux-Arts. Having come second in the Prix de Rome, he travelled to Rome in 1850, and stayed in Italy for four years. The present drawing, inscribed ‘Capri’ in graphite, must date from these early years. His diary records his enchantment at discovering the island in July 1851: ‘Capri is still the most beautiful place in the Gulf of Naples’ (quoted from D. Bartholdi, William Bouguereau. His Life and Works, New York, 2010, p. 96). A comparable drawing in graphite, representing a young Italian woman in traditional clothes playing a tambourine, is inscribed ‘Capri 4 July/ 1851’ (collection of the artist's descendants; see op. cit., p. 96, fig. 55).