Jun 28
L'Étoile Perdue (The Lost Star or Lost Pleiad (1884) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (French, 1825 – 1905), oil on canvas, 195.5 cm (76.9 in) x 95 cm (37.4 in), Private Collection
#Lost Pleiad#The Lost Star#L'Étoile Perdue#William-Adolphe Bouguereau#painting#my upload#oil on canvas#art#19th century#the painting depicts Merope—one of the seven sisters in Greek mythology known as the Pleiades.#Shame and Mortality: In Greek myth Merope is the lost star of the Pleiades#Unlike her six sisters who consorted with immortal gods Merope married a mortal: the infamous King Sisyphus#Out of shame for marrying a mortal and for her husband's earthly crimes Merope dimmed her light and hid her face#Astronomical Reference: The myth neatly corresponds to the real-life astronomy of the Pleiades open star cluster (Messier 45)#While the cluster is easily visible to the naked eye one of its primary stars is noticeably dimmer than the others#Academic Nude: In true 19th-century Academic art Bouguereau used the mythological narrative of a fading star#to justify the painting of a solitary idealized female nude emphasizing graceful anatomical rendering porcelain-like skin tones#and a melancholic expression
