Portrait of an elegant by Albert Besnard (1849-1934)

Portrait of an elegant by Albert Besnard (1849-1934), oi on canvas.
Born in Paris in 1849 where he died in 1934, he was the first painter to receive national funeral. He learned painting under the mastership of Alexandre Cabanel and Sebastien Cornu. He won the Grand Prix de Rome in 1874 and became the director of the Villa Medicis in 1912.
His portraits, between intimacy and worldliness, were loved by the french bourgeoisie. Octave Mirbeau also praised them, evoking "the joy of sensuality" and "the exquisite grace" of the portraits exhibited at the Société Nationale des Beaux Arts in 1897.
The portrait we present is certainly an anonymous studio model. We find in it the fruit of the artist's work : the vibration of the colours, an energetic brush and a radiant sensuality.

Frame dimensions : 64.5cm width ; 76.5cm height