William-Adolphe Bouguereau | Idylle, 1851

"Before starting work, steep yourself in your subject; if you don’t fully understand it, seek further or turn to something else.

Remember that everything must be thought out beforehand, everything, down to the last details".

"For me a work of art must be an elevated interpretation of nature.

The search for the ideal has been the purpose of my life.

In landscape or seascape, I love above all the poetic motif".

One has to seek Beauty and Truth, Sir!

As I always say to my pupils, you have to work to the finish.

There's only one kind of painting.

It is the painting that presents the eye with perfection, the kind of beautiful and impeccable enamel you find in Veronese and Titian.