William Bouguereau is renown today for his works of idealized beauty and technical virtuosity. Once one of the most popular artists of the 19th century, he became a victim of the Modern Art movement as it bulldozed its past, and the light that Bouguereau brought into the world was almost extinguished. What was the origin of that light, that mastery of beauty?
How does a dreamer reconcile his adoration of the human body and his devout suspicion of the sins of the flesh? How does a romantic who seeks perfection endure the imperfections of everyday life? The solution for William Bouguereau is quite unconventional – he travels to the enigmatic Nymph Land.
In this fairy tale of an artist facing the challenges of a fledgling career, Bouguereau is entinced by a fellow artist to go to Nymph Land – an erotic Arcadia spoken of in whispers by artists and poets. There, William is bent on learning the secrets of passion, but the price may be too great – to be forever trapped in the dream world of Nymph Land, where he will lose his art and perhaps his very soul.
Targeted Age Group:: Adults only
What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
I love fine art, especially the great Romantics like Bouguereau and William Waterhouse, the Pre-Raphaelites and Symbolists. It saddens me that modern art scholars tried to wipe out all the beauty of the past to justify its own cynical philosophies. This book is a denial of modernist cynicism and embraces the beauty of past art.
