Intimacy (Intimité)
Etching, 1889, Godefroy 89, edition unknown. 7 x 9 1/8 in. Signed in pencil. This is a fine, luminous impression printed on laid paper. The margins are full and the condition is excellent. Here Besnard depicts an endearing interior with two people seated before a fireplace. There is only one state recorded for this uncommon print.
SOLD

La Femme
Etching printed with plate tone, circa 1886, Delteil 47 (probably the third state of three), edition unknown but possibly about one hundred impressions. 12 3/8 x 9 5/8 in. Signed in pencil. This very fine impression of this, the frontispiece to the series called "La Femme", consisting of twelve plates done in 1886-1887. Full margins. Very good condition other than minor areas of discoloration in the margins only. A very fine example of Besnard's work.
SOLD

La Femme a la Pelerine
Etching, drypoint and traces of roulette work, 1889, Delteil 86 (vi/VI), edition probably 75. 9 1/4 x 6 1/4 in. Signed in the plate and signed and dated in ink (with a dedication). A very fine impression. Full margins. Very good condition other than some toning to the sheet, verso.
SOLD

La Muse Accoudée (The Leaning Muse)
Etching, 1884, Delteil 17 (iii/III), edition 75. 9 1/2 x 7 1/8 in. Initialed in the plate, left edge, center, and signed and numbered in pencil below. This is a fine, dark impression of this stellar early work. The paper bears the watermark VAN GELDER ZONEN and the margins are full. Fine condition.
SOLD

La Muse Accoudee
Etching, 1884, Delteil 17 (iii/III); edition 75. 9 1/2 x 7 1/8 in. Initialed in the plate, left center edge, and signed in pencil, lower right. Inscribed in pencil by the artist, "tire a 75." This is a superb impression rich in contrasts. The paper is a fine laid with a partial coat of arms watermark. The margins are wide and the condition is very good with only minor handling creases here and there in the margins. This is an outstanding early print by Besnard.
SOLD

Le Bi a Villerville
Etching, 1884, Delteil 20 (ii/II), edition 75. 6 3/4 x 5 1/2 in. Initialed, dated and titled in the plate. Signed and numbered below in pencil. This is a fine, fresh impression printed on antique laid paper, apparently the end leaf from an old volume. The margins are full and the condition is excellent. The subject here is Robert Besnard, (le "Petit Bi"), the eldest son of the artist. This early, endearing work shows the artist already with a great understanding of the etching process. He produced about two hundred prints throughout his career.
SOLD

Model with Bare arms Raised (Le Modèle nu les Bras Levés)
Etching with traces of drypoint, 1925, Godefroy 128 (iii/IV); five impressions in this state, total unknown. 10 5/8 x 7 3/4 in. Signed in pencil. Also, inscribed "3et...4/5." This is a superb, luminous impression with full margins. The condition is fine apart from a minor paper flaw in the left margin near the image. This late work by the artist shows him still in great command of the medium with the skills of a master draftsman. The plate is known to have been destroyed but we don't have a precise edition.
$900

Morphine Addicts (Morphinomanes)
Etching, 1887, Coppier 62,Delteil 65, only known state; edition unknown. 9 1/8 x 14 1/2 in. Signed in pencil, lower right. This is a very fine impression printed with plate tone. The margins are wide and probably full. The condition is fine apart from very slight lightening of the paper within an earlier mat opening. This very rare print is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum in NY and is described as follows on their website, "Besnard's deeply incised etching lines cast his feline women in dark shadows and gave them a tragic accent. Melancholy, bored, and dramatically alluring (in a Gloria Swanson way), they help to define for us the decadence of the century."
SOLD

Sous La Lampe (By Lamplight)
Etching, 1928, subsequent to Delteil, edition 102. 10 1/2 x 8 1/4 in. Signed and numbered in pencil. This is a fine impression with full margins. The condition is excellent. This later work was published by the Société des Peintre Graveurs Français and their blindstamp appears in the lower left margin (Lugt 1195a).
SOLD

The Silk Dress (La Robe de Soie)
Etching, drypoint, aquatint and roulette, 1887, Godefroy 66 (iii/III), edition unknown. 14 5/8 x 9 3/8 in. Signed in pencil. Here we have a superb impression of this large work printed with plate tone. The margins are full and the condition is fine. Technically refined, this beautiful print is an exemplary work by the artist.
$1,800