19th Century Art (1800-1899)

But there was one hottie that everyone seemed to like, and I can’t blame them…

New Governess

Theodor Hildebrandt (1804-1874) “The Murder of the Children of King Edward” (1835) Oil on canvas Located in the Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf, Germany

The sons of Edward IV, King of England, Edward V of England and Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, were 12 and 9 years old when they were lodged in the Tower of London by their uncle, the Lord Protector: Richard, Duke of Gloucester. This was supposedly in preparation for Edward V’s forthcoming coronation as king. However, before he could be crowned, he and his brother were declared illegitimate, and their uncle Richard ascended to the throne.

He was a disciple of the painter Schadow, and, on Schadow's appointment to the presidency of a new academy in the Rhenish provinces in 1828, followed that master to Düsseldorf. Hildebrandt began by painting pictures illustrative of Goethe and Shakespeare; but in this form he followed the traditions of the stage rather than the laws of nature. He produced rapidly "Faust and Mephistopheles" (1824), "Faust and Margaret" (1825), and "Lear and Cordelia" (1828). He is associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting.

Comparatively late in life Hildebrandt tried his powers as an historical painter in pictures representing Wolsey and Henry VIII, but he lapsed again into the romantic in "Othello and Desdemona." After 1847 Hildebrandt gave himself up to portrait-painting, and in that branch succeeded in obtaining a large practice. Hildebrandt was also an entomologist specialising in Coleoptera and a Member of the Entomological Society of Stettin. He died at Düsseldorf in 1874.

Bouguereau arrived in Paris in 1864 and began studying contemporary and old-master paintings. While Paris beckoned all artists, women were still barred from studying at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts. Undaunted by these discriminatory practices, Bouguereau enrolled in private classes. In 1868, she was one of the first American women to exhibit at the Paris Salon, along with Mary Cassatt. Bouguereau’s paintings were accepted into 25 Paris Salons; she also won a bronze medal at the 1889 Exposition Universelle. By the late 1870s, she was studying with William-Adolphe Bouguereau, whose use of rich color and portrayals of children and domestic scenes were widely acclaimed.

Religious, historical, and mythological subject matter dominated Bouguereau’s early art production. She acknowledged that her work was strongly influenced by William-Adolphe (to whom she became engaged in 1879 but did not marry until 1896). She made her own way by producing works in a monumental style most often associated with male artists.

Louis Gallait (1810-1887) “The Power of Music” (1852) Oil on panel Located in the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland, United States