Description
Albert Besnard was a good friend of fellow artist Henri Lerolle, whose wife Madeleine and daughter Yvonne are the subjects of this double portrait set in a studio. The artist’s profession is referenced in the large portfolios of drawings at lower right, and the easel at upper left, which displays a canvas tipped forward at an unusual angle. The canvas has been strapped to the easel in this position so the artist can more easily paint while seated.
Provenance
Henri Lerolle (1883, 1913), by descent. Brame & Lorenceau, Paris. Purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Noah L. Butkin. Given to the CMA in 1977.
Accession Number
1977.120
Medium
oil on fabric
Dimensions
Framed: 191.5 x 142.2 x 9.5 cm (75 3/8 x 56 x 3 3/4 in.); Unframed: 165 x 115.5 cm (64 15/16 x 45 1/2 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Noah L. Butkin
Tags
Painting Impressionist & Modern (1851–1900) Oil Painting French
Background & Context
Background Story
Madeleine Lerolle and Her Daughter Yvonne from c. 1879-80 is one of Besnard's earliest accomplished portraits, depicting a mother and child in the intimate, domestic manner that would become one of his signature subjects. The c. 1879-80 date places this at the beginning of Besnard's career, when he was still working under the influence of the academic tradition before developing the more decorative manner that would characterize his mature work. The mother-and-child subject allows Besnard to combine the intimate domesticity of his best work with the compositional and tonal rigor of his academic training.
Cultural Impact
This early portrait is important in Besnard's development because it shows the beginning of the mother-and-child subject that would become one of his most characteristic themes. The c. 1879-80 date makes this one of the earliest works in a career that would span more than five decades, and the academic handling demonstrates the training that underlies the more decorative manner of his mature work.
Why It Matters
Madeleine Lerolle and Her Daughter Yvonne is young Besnard discovering his signature subject: the mother and child rendered with the intimate domesticity that would become one of his most characteristic themes. The c. 1879-80 portrait shows the academic training that underlies the more decorative manner of his mature work.
