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The Wave

William-Adolphe Bouguereau

Size2:3 ratio

Frame

$59Unframed print · made to order

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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

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About this work

Artist: William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825–1905)
Year: 1896
Medium: Oil on canvas
Original size: 121 × 160.5 cm
Collection: Private collection
Movement: Academic

A young woman sits naked on the wet sand at the edge of the sea, one arm raised to her hair, turning to look over her shoulder at the viewer as a wave breaks white behind her. Bouguereau painted it in 1896, when he was seventy, and signed and dated it at the bottom; the French title is La Vague. It belongs to the long series of bathers and sea nymphs that were his most saleable subjects, painted in the Paris studio from a posed model with the beach added from studies made at La Rochelle, his birthplace on the Atlantic coast. The surface is smooth and the drawing exact, the academic finish that made him rich and that the Impressionists and their successors rejected. The painting is in a private collection and is known chiefly through reproduction.

This exhibition-poster edition shows the whole work beneath original typography set in-house. The original is in the public domain.

Details & materials

• Print — original, drawn in-house • 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 exhibition-poster edition sets the complete image above typography designed in-house.

Is The Wave 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 Private collection.

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 Wave painted, and in what medium?

The Wave dates from 1896 and was made in oil on canvas; the original measures 121 × 160.5 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

A museum-exhibition poster of William-Adolphe Bouguereau's The Wave — The Wave — a bather seated at the foaming edge of a breaking sea — shown whole and uncropped beneath gallery typography. Academic Masterworks, styled as a blockbuster exhibition print. A gallery-style exhibition poster: a celebrated public-domain artwork shown whole and uncropped beneath original exhibition typography set in-house — 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 Exhibition Posters 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.

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