BESNARD, (Paul) Albert, French painter: b. Paris, 2 June 1849. His parents were both artists, his father having studied under Ingres. The young Besnard, with such influences, showed an early aptitude for art-study and went into Cabanel's private studio at the age of seventeen. He studied un der Bremond as well. His first salon picture was received in 1868. In 1874 he received the Prix de Rome bringing with it the sojourn in Italy at the Villa Medicis. From 1879 to 1881 he practised portrait painting in London. In 1884 he exhibited at the salon his decorations for the Ecole de Pharmacie in Paris which, fol lowed (in 1899) by his (Femme qui se chauffe' now in the Luxembourg, raised considerable outcry against him in orthodox circles. It was asserted that he, designated by his training to carry on the traditions of the Ecole des Beaux Arts, was surrendering to the allurements of impressionism. In reality there was little need for the academic group to take alarm, for de spite his extreme virtuosity and his learning certain principles from the advanced painters, he remains a school man, though a brilliant one. The idea is corroborated as his work advances, later productions being (Life Re born from Death,' at the Sorbonne; (Truth Attended by the Sciences Enlightening•Man,) a ceiling decoration in the Hotel de Ville; (The Happy Isle,' at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and the Petit Palais, portraits like the (Por trait de Femme,' at the Diisseldorf Museum, and genre, like his pictures of India. He has received many honors and is represented in the Brussels Gallery by 'Les Cariatides' and the Luxembourg by the (View of Algiers,' the of an Engraver' and the (Femme qui se chauffe,' before mentioned. Besnard is
a great traveler and brought from Spain and Algiers admirable specimens of his art; but his greatest undertaking was his journey to India in 1911. He brought back incomparable pic tures of the exotic color and the interesting life of that country. They are masterpieces of in tense color, often in a single tone; such as his (Weeping Woman,' painted entirely in red. Other excellent examples are the
at Benares' •