Portrait of William T. Walters. Leon Bonnat
Before moving to Paris in 1854, Bonnat trained in Madrid. The stark realism and sharp contrasts in light and shadow of Bonnat's mature style reflect the influence of the great 17th-century Spanish master Diego Velázquez. Until the late 1870s, Bonnat specialized in historical subjects and scenes inspired by a visit to the Holy Land and Egypt undertaken with J.-L. Gérôme in 1868-1869. During the early years of France's Third Republic (1870-1940), however, Bonnat gained an international following for his dramatically illuminated portraits of statesmen and leaders in many fields. Because of their shared admiration for the animal sculptures of the French artist Antoine-Louis Barye, a close association developed between Bonnat, Walters, and the Baltimore expatriate and art consultant George A. Lucas.
Date 1883
Medium oil on canvas
Dimensions
Height: 143.5 cm (56.5 in). Width: 103 cm (40.6 in).
with frame: Height: 178.75 cm (70.4 in). Width: 1,714.82 cm (675.1 in). Depth: 11.43 cm (4.5 in).
Current location
Walters Art Museum Link back to Institution infobox template wikidata:Q210081
Accession number 37.758
Place of creation France
Object history
1883: commissioned by William T. Walters, Baltimore
1894: inherited by Henry Walters, Baltimore
1931: bequeathed to Walters Art Museum by Henry Walters
Exhibition history A Baltimorean in Paris: George A. Lucas, 1860-1909. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1979. 19th Century Masterpieces from the Walters Art Museum. Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara; Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art, Austin. 2010-2011.
Credit line Commissioned by William T. Walters, 1883
Inscriptions Signature and date bottom right: Leon Bonnat 1883
