” D’apres Delacroix” Impressionist Portrait, Signed Oil Painting

“D’apres Delacroix” Impressionist Portrait, Signed Oil Painting By French artist Claude Benard, (1926 – 2016) Signed and dated ’47 by the artist on the lower left hand corner Oil painting on board, unframed Board size: 14 x 11 inches Incredible impressionist portrait showing a man we believe to be Jesus Christ with his head back, clearly hurt and wounded at the top of his chest. The brushwork to accentuate the muscle definition and jawline is suburb, it is incredibly moving. The painting is titled as a work after Delacroix. The colour palette is quite dark, showing different tones of brown, the light shines on his chest and face. Claude Benard was born in Cholet in 1926 but shortly after his family moved to Angouleme (1928), where he was to live until his death in 2016. Studying at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris and also in the studios of Cheyssial and Fougerat. At the age of 21, he began exhibiting at the Salon des Artistes Francais. After time traveling to broaden his artistic experience he returned to his home town to continue painting professionally. He became a Professor at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Angouleme from 1957-1980. Benard exhibited with numerous prestigious institutions throughout France and abroad, including the Salon des Artistes Francais, Salon des Independants and the Salon d’Automne, Paris. He was the holder of more than seventy awards. In 1978, he founded the Cercle Angoumousin des Arts and in 1979 organised a Salon of Contemporary Art in Angouleme bringing together celebrated artists from the Charente region. His style evolved from figurative in the 1960’s, through to Surrealism into the 1970’s and onwards. Four tribute exhibitions of his works were held in Angouleme in 1972, 1984, 2001 and 2017. This is one of many paintings we have by this artist, please contact if you wish to view more. provenance: the artists estate, France Condition report: The painting and board are both in very pleasing condition. The board is fairly scruffy due to the age it was painted, but this definitely adds to the vintage nature, it has also been whitewashed on the back. Please see the images.