Paul Albert Besnard
Parigi, 1849 - 1934
From 1923 he was a regular at the Salon d'Automne and, from 1924, at the Salon des Tuileries. In 1914 he directed of the Villa Medici in Rome, in 1922 he was appointed director of the Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts, and in 1924 he became a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts and the Académie Française.
he son of a valued pupil of Ingres and a capable miniaturist, Besnard was orphaned by his father at a very young age. From an early age his mother accustomed him to social gatherings, and at age 17 he entered the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Cabanel's Atelier.
At only 19 he made his debut at the Salon des Beaux Arts, enjoying good success. In 1874 he won the Grand Prix de Rome. The exhibition of the Portrait of Mme Roger Jourdain at the Salon of 1886 is the first manifestation of his now formed personality.
In 1884 he made the decoration of the Ecole de Pharmacie, and in 1889 he presented La femme qui se chauffe at the Salon. Other decorations, no less interesting, were commissioned from him in the wedding halls of the mayor of the first arrondissement, the chemistry amphitheater at the Nouvelle Sorbonne, the Hotel de Ville, and the Petit Palais. In addition to these commissions Besnard also executed numerous light-filled portraits and paintings of Orientalist subjects. A trip to India provides him with an opportunity for a renewal of his work.
Beginning in 1890 he ceases to exhibit at the Salon des Artistes Françaises, but at that of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts of which he is one of the founders and vice president from 1910 to 1913.
From 1923 he was a regular at the Salon d'Automne and, from 1924, at the Salon des Tuileries. In 1914 he directed of the Villa Medici in Rome, in 1922 he was appointed director of the Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts, and in 1924 he became a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts and the Académie Française.
Museums:
Bruxelles
Digione
Douai
Dusseldorf
Nantes
Paris (Louvre)
Bibliography:
E. Benezit, Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs, Parigi, Ed. Grund, 1976.
At only 19 he made his debut at the Salon des Beaux Arts, enjoying good success. In 1874 he won the Grand Prix de Rome. The exhibition of the Portrait of Mme Roger Jourdain at the Salon of 1886 is the first manifestation of his now formed personality.
In 1884 he made the decoration of the Ecole de Pharmacie, and in 1889 he presented La femme qui se chauffe at the Salon. Other decorations, no less interesting, were commissioned from him in the wedding halls of the mayor of the first arrondissement, the chemistry amphitheater at the Nouvelle Sorbonne, the Hotel de Ville, and the Petit Palais. In addition to these commissions Besnard also executed numerous light-filled portraits and paintings of Orientalist subjects. A trip to India provides him with an opportunity for a renewal of his work.
Beginning in 1890 he ceases to exhibit at the Salon des Artistes Françaises, but at that of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts of which he is one of the founders and vice president from 1910 to 1913.
From 1923 he was a regular at the Salon d'Automne and, from 1924, at the Salon des Tuileries. In 1914 he directed of the Villa Medici in Rome, in 1922 he was appointed director of the Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts, and in 1924 he became a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts and the Académie Française.
Museums:
Bruxelles
Digione
Douai
Dusseldorf
Nantes
Paris (Louvre)
Bibliography:
E. Benezit, Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs, Parigi, Ed. Grund, 1976.
