Leon Bonnat Painting by Paul Meijering

Realistic acrylic painting of the French painter Léon Joseph Florentin Bonnat (Bayonne, 20 June 1833 - Monchy-Saint-Éloi, 8 September 1922), painted by the Dutch fine artist Paul Meijering - the original painting is 90 x 120 cm and part of a permanent collection.

Bonnat was born in Bayonne but lived between 1846 and 1853 in Madrid, where his father ran a bookshop, and where he became a pupil of the well-known painter Federico de Madrazo y Kuntz. At twenty-one, he went to Paris and started working in the studios of Léon Cogniet and Hippolyte Delaroche. From 1858 to 1860, he stayed in Rome, where he met Edgar Degas and Gustave Moreau, among others. Later, he also travelled to Greece and the Middle East. After returning to France, he started working as a teacher at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts. His pupils included Edvard Munch, Gustave Caillebotte, John Singer Sargent, Peder Severin Krøyer, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Thomas Eakins, Alphonse Osbert, Erik Werenskiold, Raoul Dufy, Edwin Lord Weeks and Georges Braque.

Bonnat painted many historical and religious works in an academic-naturalistic style, in which his Spanish background was evident, especially in the harmonious use of colourite. A well-known example is his "Crucified Christ", which provoked much criticism because of its strong expression.

Bonnat became best known for his portraits, often of celebrities such as Adolphe Thiers, Victor Hugo and Jules Grévy. They are characterised by the energetic modelling of his figures, the strong plasticity and the characteristic drawing of the faces.

Bonnat died in 1922 at Monchy-Saint-Éloi, aged 89. His work is in numerous major museums, including the Louvre, the Hermitage, the Musée d'Orsay and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His hometown of Bayonne is home to the Musée Bonnat.