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The Proposal

1872
Not on view

The motif of a young man at a window, wooing a woman at her spinning wheel, and the vaguely sixteenth-century German costumes and setting, led writers to associate this painting with the tragic story of Faust and Marguerite. The seduction of the innocent heroine by the wicked Faust was a popular pictorial subject in the nineteenth century, inspired by Goethe’s dramatic poem and its operatic staging by Charles Gounod. Regardless of the lovers’ identities, the lushly painted, romantic scene would have appealed to Bouguereau’s well-heeled clientele.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Proposal
  • Artist: William Bouguereau (French, La Rochelle 1825–1905 La Rochelle)
  • Date: 1872
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 64 3/8 x 44 in. (163.5 x 111.8 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Elliot L. Kamen, in memory of her father, Bernard R. Armour, 1960
  • Object Number: 60.122
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

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Art and Literature, William Bouguereau French, Lithograph
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William Bouguereau
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Two Sleeping Children, William Bouguereau French, Black chalk, heightened with white chalk
Two Sleeping Children
William Bouguereau
n.d.
Mignon Pensive, from "Illustrated London News", William Bouguereau French, Wood engraving
Mignon Pensive, from "Illustrated London News"
William Bouguereau
Goupil & Co.
August 17, 1872
Young Mother Gazing at Her Child, William Bouguereau French, Oil on canvas
Young Mother Gazing at Her Child
William Bouguereau
1871
Breton Brother and Sister, William Bouguereau French, Oil on canvas
Breton Brother and Sister
William Bouguereau
1871

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