id: 124801 accession number: 1946.280 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1946.280 updated: 2023-08-23 20:29:26.259000 The Siesta, c. 1890 – 1920. Albert Besnard (French, 1849–1934). Oil on board; framed: 95.2 x 84.8 x 7 cm (37 1/2 x 33 3/8 x 2 3/4 in.); unframed: 65.5 x 53.7 cm (25 13/16 x 21 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, In memory of Ralph King, gift of Mrs. Ralph King; Ralph T. Woods, Charles G. King; and Frances King Schafer 1946.280 title: The Siesta title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: c. 1890 – 1920 creation date earliest: 1890 creation date latest: 1920 current location: creditline: In memory of Ralph King, gift of Mrs. Ralph King; Ralph T. Woods, Charles G. King; and Frances King Schafer copyright: --- culture: France, 19th century technique: oil on board department: Modern European Painting and Sculpture collection: Mod Euro - Painting 1800-1960 type: Painting find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS * Albert Besnard (French, 1849–1934) - artist Albert Besnard's parents-his father an amateur painter who studied with Ingres (q.v.) and his mother a miniaturist-influenced his early artistic career. In 1866 he entered the École des Beaux-Arts where he studied in the ateliers of Jean- François Brémond (1807-1868), who taught the young Besnard fresco painting, and Alexandre Cabanel (1823-1889), one of the foremost Second Empire academic painters. Besnard first exhibited at the Salon of 1868, which proved to be the beginning of his official success and in 1874 he won the Prix de Rome, an honor that gave him the opportunity to spend four years at the Villa Medici. Besnard's success as a portraitist began in London, where he stayed from 1879 until 1881. He studied seventeenth-century British portrait painters and emulated the British colorists, Turner (q.v.) in particular. Besnard's reputation as a portrait painter followed him back to Paris where he received numerous commissions from prominent figures of the Third Republic (1870-1940). In addition to portrait painting, Besnard was commissioned by the state to paint mural decorations for various public buildings in Paris. He also experimented with different media such as pastel and etching and designed decorations for stained glass. Besnard received numerous awards and was re-cognized by his contemporaries, including the symbolists. He held the directorships of the École de Rome in 1913 and of the École Supérieure Nationale des Beaux-Arts from 1923 to 1934. --- measurements: Framed: 95.2 x 84.8 x 7 cm (37 1/2 x 33 3/8 x 2 3/4 in.); Unframed: 65.5 x 53.7 cm (25 13/16 x 21 1/8 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: inscription: Signed lower left: ABesnard [AB in monogram] translation: remark: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS * Pittsburgh, Carnegie Institute. Nineteenth Annual International Exhibition of Paintings (1920), no. 31, The Siesta (not in competition for honors). --- PROVENANCE Stock Georges Petit, Paris. Ralph King, Cleveland. Given to the CMA in 1946. date: footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: digital description: wall description: --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS Argencourt, Louise d', and Roger Diederen. Catalogue of Paintings. Pt. 4. European Paintings of the 19th Century. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1974. page number: Mentioned and reproduced: P. 28-30, Vol. I, no. 10 url: --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1946.280/1946.280_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1946.280/1946.280_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1946.280/1946.280_full.tif