With "The Secret", the realistic painter William Adolphe Bouguereau takes us into the world of everyday life. You can see three figures. Two young women on the left and in the middle and a small child lying on a stone well edge. The painting receives tension from this constellation.
While the child with gold curly head persely plays with his finger on the water surface, the left index finger of the rear woman is raised knowingly towards the sky. With her right hand she holds the shoulder of the front young woman tightly embraces. This results in a unity from which neither of the two women can break out while the child is immersed in his own world of thought.

The finger stretched to the sky emphasizes the importance of what the dark-haired woman has to say to her companion: a secret. Since the artist painted both women with their mouths closed, it can be assumed that the secret has just been pronounced. The raised index finger means: Nothing may be told!
Inevitably, the observer becomes an accomplice in this silent scenery. He lives in an intimate moment where close people trust each other.

Both women are dressed in a colorful costume. The hair of one lies in a wreath-shaped braided around the forehead, while the dark-haired wearing a red hair band. This formal rigor of hairstyles is livened up by the full curls of the child immersed in his play. Because the children's world does not know anything about the secrets of adults!

Striking is also: The characters take a relaxed attitude. The artist captured a moment at the fountain, in which the front woman casually leans on her shiny, large copper vessel, which stands securely on a wall. In the background we can see a dense forest, which gives the view of the sky in the upper right corner. Maybe the way back to the village leads here?
The light falls over the uncovered shoulder and the crossed hands of the blond woman on the angelic child and the reflection on the water surface.

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The Secret by William Adolphe Bouguereau. Available as an art print on canvas, photo paper, watercolor board, uncoated paper or Japanese paper.
girl · friend · child · well · promise · discretion · conspirator · gossip · Collection of the New-York Historical Society, USA / Bridgeman Images