As an art history student, I’ve fallen down many rabbit holes of wonderfully talented artists. A genre of art that I’ve currently found curiosity in is academic art. Artists such as Alexandre Cabanel, Eugene de Blass, and most significantly, William Bouguereau, have provoked me to do numerous studies of their work. This piece specifically is inspired by Bouguereau's painting "Love and Psyché." I recreated the composition with my own original characters named Rosemary (right) and Esther (left). I wanted to capture and honor the sense of serenity, luminance, and weightlessness displayed in Bouguereau's painting in my own work.
Avery Diecks, senior, Chattahoochee High School