In this painting by William Bouguereau a young woman is portrayed
in a wood by the side of a pool. She is laying with her head on her
arms and her body posture and facial expression depicts sadness or
remorse. Perhaps she has been betrayed by a loved one, or perhaps
the betrayal was hers. Could she be wrecked with guilt?
I have
mentioned before that it is my opinion that Bouguereau used the same
subjects in several of his works. I believe the case is so with this
piece and a later piece entitled
Douleur d'amour (Pain d'
love.1899). If you study the facial characteristics of the subject
you can see a striking resemblance between the two. They both
portray a scene of despair. They also both appear to share the same
body type being slightly rounded on the hips and carrying a little weight
on the thighs.

Facial detail from Douleur d'amour (1889)
The above account is my interpretation of the work and should in
no way be taken as fact.