Study and interpretation of ‘The First Mourning’ by William-Adolphe Bouguereau

 

The most excruciating pain in life must be the warm embrace of a mother and father on the cold body of their child. The original  painting by Bouguereau was created some time soon after the death of his son. The desolation in his artwork is depicted in a very sober contained way through the use of a soft pastel like palette.

In the ‘L-Ewwel Demm’ interpretation, the pastel colours are replaced with cold greys for the figures and a vibrant red for the background. In this version, the sober desolation of  subdued colours is replaced by the intensity of grief highlighted by the vibrant red. The coldness of greys embodies the numbness that such an event leaves on the grieving ones.

 

 

Artwork comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.