Intimate Fantasy (Féerie intime)
1901
Medium
etching, aquatint, and drypoint on laid paper
Dimensions
sheet (trimmed within plate mark): 36 x 48.4 cm (14 3/16 x 19 1/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Bell
Accession Number
1996.136.9
Art Historical Context
### Intimate Fantasy (Féerie intime) Created in 1901 by French artist Albert Besnard (1849–1934), *Intimate Fantasy (Ferie intime)* captures the Symbolist spirit of dreamlike reverie at the turn of the century. Besnard, renowned for his murals, portraits, and innovative prints, blended Romanticism with emerging modernist sensibilities. This intimate work, housed in the National Gallery of as a gift from Mr. and Mrs Daniel Bell, evokes a private world of enchantment, reflecting the era's fascination with the subconscious and the ethereal—echoes of Symbolism's poetic introspection amid France's...
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...