The title of the series of prints, Elle, refers to Death (La Mort). The series is considered one of Albert Besnard's most significant works in printmaking and depicts the omnipresence of death among the living.

Born in Paris, Albert Besnard entered the École des Beaux-Arts in 1866. He exhibited at the Salon of 1868 and won the Prix de Rome in 1874. While in Rome, he met Charlotte Dubray (1854-1931), the daughter of the sculptor Vital Dubray (1813-1892), and a sculptor herself, who benefited from the sponsorship of the Duke and Duchess of Sutherland to study sculpture in Rome. After their marriage in 1879, the couple moved to London. There, Dubray had numerous contacts and Besnard received numerous commissions as a portrait painter. He also studied printmaking with Alphonse Legros. Their four children, three sons and a daughter, became artists. Besnard was the director of the Académie de France in Rome from 1913-1921 and the director of the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris from 1922 to 1932. He became the first painter to be given a state funeral in France.

26 prints

Open for use by qualified researchers.