Portrait of a Man (Souvenir d'un Passage à Paris)
1898
Medium
graphite on card
Dimensions
sheet: 21.1 x 14.2 cm (8 5/16 x 5 9/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Joseph F. McCrindle Collection
Accession Number
2009.70.37
Art Historical Context
Albert Besnard's *Portrait of a Man (venir d'un Passage à)*, created in 1898, the essence of a fleeting encounter in the City of Light. This intimate graphite drawing on card, measuring just 21.1 x 14.2 cm, showcases Besnard's skill as a French artist renowned for his luminous portraits and murals during the Belle Époque. The title evokes a personal memento from a brief stay in Paris, suggesting the work's spontaneous charm—likely sketched from life amid the bustling cafés and boulevards of fin-de-siècle France. Besnard, a leading figure in late 19th-century French art, blended Impressionist ...
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...