The Wave

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Today I thought I'd do another "artistic nude" feature.  This image is titled "The Wave" and it's a picture of an oil painting from William-Adolphe Bouguereau from 1896.

I don't remember exactly how long ago I first saw this painting (probably about 4-5 years).  But I do recall my first impression of it.

"Amazing" summed it up for me in a word.

I didn't want the full-size image to overwhelm mobile viewers, but if you're on a PC or larger screen device be sure to click the image to get a much bigger view so that you can admire the details with me.

First off, remember again that this is an oil painting.  What a simply incredible piece of art.

Here's my own artistic interpretation of it.  Look at the background clouds, sky, waves... these if you stare at them and examine them in detail look more like a traditional painting.  They are nicely done, but it's easy to discern the fact that they are indeed "painted"

But the foreground rocks, water and the model herself... BRILLIANT.  I can look at this painting for hours (and have on occasion) and even blown up to quite a large size my mind simply cannot comprehend that the foreground work is painted.  It's simply way too photo-realistic.

And the composition is marvelous.  The shadowing... the detail of her skin.  Look at the soles of her feet for instance.  Her hair flowing in the wind.

I simply cannot verbalize accurately enough how moving this work is to me.  I consider it truly a masterpiece.


And one of the most beautiful things about it, besides it's nearly flawless technical detail, is the fact that the girl is pretty but she obviously has her "flaws" if we examine her with a very shallow mind.  Her tummy is pooched.  Her thighs and butt are fairly ample.  She has a pretty but not gorgeous face.

But still I don't see those individual flaws unless I force myself to fixate on them.  Instead, when I look at the picture as a whole I find it and her to be quite pleasing and beautiful indeed.

My most favorite part of the composition is her smile.  It combines innocence with a hint of naughtiness.  She looks like she may be enjoying the act of posing but she's probably also a bit embarrassed and uncomfortable at the same time.

Anyway, I'm not much of an art critic and even less of an actual artist myself, but that won't stop me from at least presenting this beautiful piece to you for your own enjoyment and analysis.

I hope you appreciate it as much as I do.