On The Difference Between Leiden And Bouguereau's Paintings

As is known to all,the 19 th century was one of the most prosperous centuries in western literature and art era with numerous art schools with neo-classical painting as an important part.The British painter Frederic Leighton(1830-1896)and the French painter Adolphe-William Bouguereau(1825-1905)were regarded as important figures in the neo-classicism of the 19 th century in the history of western painting,both of which were fond of ancient Greek and Roman art traditions.However,due to the different national conditions between British and French,their ways of expression in paintings are differentiated while sharing some common points.Leighton is always keen to the style of elegance and vintage and creates plenty of magnificent and solemn masterpieces while Bouguereau works with a high degree of conciseness,superb skill,famous for its perfect ideal and simple nature,and creates numerous famous works with gentle,pure beauty,elegance and pleasing to the eye.Later,Bouguereau is regarded as the spokesperson for French post-neoclassicism.Their different painting expressions in Leiden and Bouguereau characters are reflected in the posture,costumes,facial expressions and gestures in their respective works.Both have their unique expression features,which two totally different painting styles are formed.In the portraits of the character gestures,Leighton depicts the figure as a bow bent,while the image of Bouguereau describes the image of standing and stretching as its main character.In the description of the costume of the characters,the women depicted by Leighton are mostly in ornate costumes,and women depicted by Bouguereau are full of idyllic work clothes.In terms of facial expression,the characters depicted by Leighton have a lofty spirit,while the figure depicted by Bouguereau is quite pure.In the description of the character’s gestures,Leighton describes the standard hand pattern,and the hand that Bouguereau paints is fresh and vivid.These different painting peculiarities demonstrate the great variety and complexity in "neoclassicism" paintings,which is the driving force for the continuous formation and development of "neoclassicism" paintings.It contributes to its rich vitality and also reveals the basic law of artistic creation of diversity and unity.