Importunate (Importune)
1900
Medium
etching and aquatint in black on Van Gelder Zonen wove paper
Dimensions
plate: 14 x 10.9 cm (5 1/2 x 4 5/16 in.) sheet: 45.1 x 31.6 cm (17 3/4 x 12 7/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Bell, in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art
Accession Number
1990.95.7
Art Historical Context
Albert Besnard's *Importunate (Import)*, created in 1900, is a striking example of the French artist's mastery in printmaking during the fin-de-siècle era. Besnard (1849–1934), renowned for his luminous paintings and murals blending academic precision with impressionistic light effects, turned to etching and aquatint to explore intimate, evocative themes. This work, housed in the National Gallery of's Department of Prints (CG-E), captures the persistent, pleading essence suggested by its title—evoking human urgency or desire through subtle tonal gradations. The medium of etching and aquatint ...
About the Artist
Albert Besnard
Paul-Albert Besnard, known as Albert Besnard, was born on June 2, 1849, in Paris to an artistic family: his father, Louis Adolphe Ferdinand Besnard, was a history painter and pupil of Ingres, while his mother, Marie Louise Pauline Vaillant, was a noted miniaturist trained under Lizinska de Mirbel. Precociously talented, he began his training under Jean-François Brémond before entering the École de...