“Virginity”
This lovely oil painting is titled “Virginity” (“Virginite” in French) and was created by the French Academic artist, Guillaume Seignac. It dates to 1900 and was made when Seignac was 30 years old.
As with most Academic artists from this time period, Seignac was heavily influenced by the classical Greek and Roman artists as well as the Italian Renaissance. These concepts of ‘idealism’ were constantly reinterpreted through Academic art in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and is clearly seen in this piece.
Notice that the woman’s head is angled 45 degrees from her body. This is a very typical classical Greek pose. It was formally written up by the ancient Athenian sculptor, Polykleitos, in his Canon of Proportions from 450 B.C. Seignac purposefully used that to add classical inspiration to a modern portrait.
“Virginity” is currently in a private collection.
For more on Guillaume Seignac, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
