Greeting Grandmother (Le Bonjour à la Grand-mère)

c. 1926

Albert Besnard

Associated Names
Albert Besnard

Artist, French, 1849 - 1934

The image shows a scene with three figures in a dimly lit interior space. On the right side, there is a partially visible person reclining in a bed, seen from the waist up, with long hair cascading over the pillow. On the left, another figure stands with their back mostly to the viewer, holding an infant or small child at chest level, who appears to be reaching out or being handed to the person on the bed. To the left of them, in the background, a third figure is visible, wholly silhouetted, standing in front of a window with their arms extended holding open a curtain, creating a triangular opening of light. The room around them is mostly shadowed, creating a contrast between the brightness coming through the window and the darker, textured bedding and walls.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching, drypoint, false-biting, and softground etching on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Bell

  • Dimensions

    plate: 24.7 x 31.6 cm (9 3/4 x 12 7/16 in.)
    sheet: 32.5 x 39.9 cm (12 13/16 x 15 11/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1996.136.13

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Delteil, undescribed, State v/?


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Bell, Cambridge, MA; gift to NGA, 1996.

Associated Names

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

by later hand, lower left in graphite: 5e Et; by later hand, lower right verso in graphite: 1er etat-? bonjour à la Gd-mère

Markings

None.

Watermarks

[PAB] monogram

Wikidata ID

Q75403707

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