Misery, plate nine from Woman
c. 1886
Medium
Etching and aquatint in black on cream Japanese paper
Dimensions
Image/plate: 31.8 × 24.6 cm (12 9/16 × 9 11/16 in.); Sheet: 38.9 × 31 cm (15 3/8 × 12 1/4 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
27875
Art Historical Context
Albert Besnard's *Misery*, plate nine the series *Woman* (c. 1886), captures the raw emotional depth of feminine experience in late 19th-century France As a leading Symbolist printmaker, Besnard explored psychological states through evocative imagery, part of a broader fin-de-siècle fascination with introspection and the inner life. This etching reflects the era's shifting views on women, blending beauty with profound sorrow amid the cultural turbulence of post-Impressionist Paris. Printed in black ink on luxurious cream Japanese paper, the work showcases Besnard's virtuoso use of etching and...
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...