The Proposal

A man with dark hair and a red outer garment leans toward a seated woman in a white blouse and pink skirt, as she looks down at a small object in her hands. The composition places the two figures closely together on a sheltered porch, with a column and green foliage behind them and a cat lounging on the rug at the bottom edge. The painting exemplifies Bouguereau’s polished Academic style, with smooth, idealized skin, finely rendered fabrics, and soft, radiant light that models the figures, using warm pinks, whites, and golds contrasted with dark blacks and greens.