Albert Besnard
French, 1849-1934
Woman with Red Hair, 1896-1902
oil on canvas
20 5/8 x 17 3/8 in.
SBMA, Bequest of Katharine Dexter McCormick in memory of her husband, Stanley McCormick
1968.20.3
Albert Besnard - undated photo, Wikimedia Commons
“M. Besnard takes great care in painting his portraits to study his models in motion and in their familiar attitudes, aiming to reproduce their characteristics of gesture and physiognomy and catch, as it were, their moral and psychological likeness.”
- Eden Park Art Museum, 1913
RESEARCH PAPER
Mysteries surround this painting of a woman gazing at her reflection in a mirror. Her hand is on her robe, but is she in the process of getting dressed or undressing? The colors of her hair, of oranges, burnt sienna and golds, are muted in the reflection. Are the muted colors due to the quality of the mirror, lighting in the room, or, perhaps, the way she views herself?
The folds of the curtain behind the woman, seen on the left and right sides of the painting, contrast with the curves and softness of the woman’s face and the draping of the robe. This image is “characteristic of the artist’s oeuvre, in which women represent the central theme, typifying his particular focus on sensuality conveyed through gesture, lustrous hair and skin tones.” (Sotheby catalogue)
This is one of three paintings that Besnard did of a red-haired woman that are known today. “Portrait of a Red-haired Woman and Ophelia”, and “Young Red-Haired Woman” are in private collections.
Albert Besnard was born in Paris in 1849. His family were artists, and he continued the tradition by marrying Charlotte Dubray, a sculptor. Three of their four children also became artists. He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts and, in1874, won the Prix de Rome for this painting Death of Timophanes.
In 1880 he broke away from the academic tradition and studied the Impressionists and their use of color and light. Although he found that the realism of Impressionism curtailed his imagination, he used their technical methods on large scale frescoes at the Sorbonne, the Comédie-Française and the Hotel de Ville. But he used vibrant brushstrokes and a vibrant palette in his paintings.
Unlike many artists, Besnard was successful painting in oil, watercolor, and pastel, as well as etchings and frescoes. Examples of his work in various media are in museums around the world. Without ever subscribing to a specific movement, Besnard studied various types of painting.
Besnard was important in French academics as well. He was among the founders of the Société Nationale in 1890, became a member of the French Adadémie des Beaux-Arts and director of the École des Beaux Arts in 1922 and in 1924 he became a member of the Académie Française. An important exhibition of his work traveled to cities of the United States in 1924.
Prepared for the Santa Barbara Museum of Art Docent Council by Mimi Baer, 2023
Bibliography
Online source: Wikipedia “Albert Besnard” and “Woman with Red Hair”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul-Albert_Besnard
Special Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings by Albert Besnard: Art Museum, Eden Park, March Thirteenth to Thirtieth, 1934
Sotheby catalogue notes
The Metropolitan Museum of Art https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/688523
Youtube: A Collection of 41 paintings https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_soinecvx0