Léon Joseph Florentin

Bonnat

France, Academic Classicism
born20 June 1833 - died 1922

BONNAT, LEON JOSEPH FLORENTIN (1833-1922), French painter, was born atBayonne onthe 20th of June 1833. He was educated inSpain, underMadrazo at Madrid, and his long series of portraits shows the influence ofVelلzquez and the Spanish realists. In 1869 he won a medal of honor atParis, where he became one of the leading artists of his day, and in 1888 he became professor of painting at theةcole des Beaux-Arts. In May 1905 he succeededPaul Dubois as director. His vivid portrait-painting is his most characteristic work, but his subject pictures, such as theMartyrdom of St Denis in the Pantheon, are also famous.

The First Mourning

Oil on canvas
Private collection

Portrait of Jules Grevy

1880
Oil on canvas
59.84 x 45.67 inches / 152 x 116 cm
Musée d’Orsay,Paris, France
Gift of Mr. Grévy, 1939

Portrait of Prince V. N. Tenishev

1896
Oil on canvas
Private collection

The Dilemma

Oil on canvas
Private collection

 Taken From: http://www.artrenewal.org/asp/database/art.asp?aid=334&page=1&order=q