The Birth of Venus (Bouguereau)

William-Adolphe Bouguereau

The Birth of Venus (Bouguereau) (William-Adolphe Bouguereau) — The Birth of Venus (Bouguereau) · William-Adolphe Bouguereau · 1879.

Size2:3 ratio

Frame

$59Unframed print · made to order

📦 Free shipping on every order — or upgrade to Express ($14.9) at checkout. Most orders arrive in ~4–8 business days (Express 2–4).

🌿 Build a gallery wall: add any 3 prints and 10% comes off automatically at checkout. Browse more →

Giclée-printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper

Ships worldwide in 3–6 business days after production

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free

Secure checkout via Stripe

About this work

Artist: William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825–1905)
Year: 1879
Medium: Oil on canvas
Original size: 300 × 218 cm
Collection: Musée d'Orsay, Paris
Movement: Academic

Venus stands on a scallop shell drawn by a dolphin, wringing out her long hair as she rises from the sea, surrounded by nymphs, tritons blowing conch shells and a sky full of putti. Bouguereau painted the three-metre canvas in Paris in 1879 and showed it at the Salon that year, where it was bought by the French state. The subject deliberately recalls Botticelli and Raphael, but the figure, modelled on a studio pose with the weight on one hip, is smoothly finished in the polished academic manner that made Bouguereau the most successful painter of the Third Republic and, later, the chief target of the modernists. The flesh is painted without a visible brushstroke. The canvas has been in the Musée d'Orsay since the museum opened in 1986.

This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.

Details & materials

• Restored in-house from the original painting — cleaned and colour-trued at museum resolution • Heavyweight matte fine-art paper, giclée printed at 300 DPI • Sizes: 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in; 16×24 and 24×36 also available framed in black or natural wood • Made to order; colours may vary slightly from screen

Shipping & returns

Produced in 2–4 business days, then shipped from the facility nearest you. Delivery is typically 3–6 business days (US/UK/EU) and 5–12 worldwide. Because each print is made to order we don't take change-of-mind returns, but if it arrives damaged or flawed we'll reprint or refund it — no return needed. Full policy →

Is this the whole painting, or a crop?

The whole work, uncropped. The image fills the print at the painting's own proportions; nothing is trimmed to fit a frame.

Is The Birth of Venus in the public domain?

Yes. William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825–1905) died more than 70 years ago and the work was published before 1929, so the painting itself is public domain. This print is a reproduction made from a high-resolution scan of the original, which is held by Musée d'Orsay.

What is it printed on?

Heavyweight matte fine-art paper with pigment inks, made to order in 12×18, 16×24 and 24×36 inches; the two larger sizes are also offered framed. Colours are matched to the scan, not brightened.

When was The Birth of Venus painted, and in what medium?

The Birth of Venus dates from 1879 and was made in oil on canvas; the original measures 300 × 218 cm.

What size works above a sofa or bed?

For a standard three-seat sofa or a queen bed, 24×36 inches reads as a single statement piece; 16×24 suits a narrower wall or a pairing. The print's proportions follow the original, so a landscape-format painting is wider than it is tall.

About this design

The Birth of Venus (Bouguereau) (William-Adolphe Bouguereau) — The Birth of Venus (Bouguereau) · William-Adolphe Bouguereau · 1879. This is a fine-art reproduction of a public-domain masterwork, shown whole and uncropped on a gallery ground, printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper. Three sizes (12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in); the 16×24 and 24×36 are also offered framed. Part of the Madten Fine Art Collection. — — — Printed to order and shipped by our production partner, Gelato.

Buy with confidence

The Madten promise

Gallery-grade archival giclée. Rich pigment inks on heavyweight fine-art paper (or gallery-wrapped canvas) — built to last, not a poster-shop print.

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free. Every piece is made to order; if it shows up damaged or flawed we remake it, no return needed.

Free worldwide shipping. Made & shipped from the facility nearest you — most orders arrive in ~4–8 business days.

Secure checkout. Payments handled by Stripe; we never see or store your card.

Also available as