Nude Woman by a Looking Glass (Femme Nue Auprès d'une Glace)
1889
Medium
etching on green laid paper
Dimensions
plate: 10.7 x 13.3 cm (4 3/16 x 5 1/4 in.) sheet: 12.5 x 17.3 cm (4 15/16 x 6 13/16 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
1992.59.18
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
In the intimate etching *Nude Woman by a Looking Glass (Femme Nueuprès d'une Gl)*, created by French artist Albert Besnard in 1889, a graceful nude figure contemplates her reflection in a mirror, evoking themes of vanity, introspection, and the female form that captivated fin-de-siècle artists.nard, a prominent painter and printmaker known for his luminous, decorative style blending Symbolism with emerging Art Nouveau influences, captures a private moment with delicate linework and subtle shading. Produced during a vibrant era of Parisian artistic innovation—just after the 1889 World's Fair—th...
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...