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Open 10:00–5:00

Visit
Open today 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Admission is always free

6th and Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20565

Sculpture Garden Extended Hours

Open late until 8:00 p.m. on select nights
Through September 5
Exhibitions & Events
America’s 250th

Celebrating American art and artists
Art & Artists
Open Call

Artists Reimagining the Collection
Meet the 50 makers selected from more than 1,600 submissions

Discreet (Discrète)

1900

Albert Besnard

Associated Names

Albert Besnard

Artist, French, 1849 - 1934

This is a drawing of a person lying in bed with a figure resembling death standing nearby. The scene is set in a dimly lit bedroom with a single candle on a nightstand casting a glow. The figure in bed is covered up to the shoulders with blankets and appears to be asleep or resting peacefully. The other figure, reminiscent of the personification of death, is hooded and skeletal, standing at the foot of the bed and pointing towards the open door. The use of cross-hatching and line work creates a dark, shadowy atmosphere.

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Artwork overview

Medium

etching in black on Van Gelder Zonen wove paper
Credit Line

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Bell, in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art
Dimensions

plate: 13.8 x 11.4 cm (5 7/16 x 4 1/2 in.)
sheet: 45 x 32 cm (17 11/16 x 12 5/8 in.)
Accession Number

1990.95.18
Catalogue Raisonné

Delteil, no. 148, State ii/ii

Artwork history & notes

Bibliography

1906

Delteil, Loys. Le peintre-graveur illustre. 31 vols. Paris: Published by the author, 1906-1926. Reprint. New York: Collectors Editions, Da Capo Press, 1969. Vol. 30 (Albert Besnard) is by Louis Godefroy.

Inscriptions

below platemark, center in graphite: ABesnard; lower center in plate: AB

Markings

None.

Watermarks

[VAN GELD]ER ZONEN

Wikidata ID

Q74885594

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