Antonio de la Gandara
Date of birth: 1862.12.16
Place of birth: Paris
Date of death: 1917.06.30
Place of death: Paris
Category: painter
Identity:
Antonio de La Gandara was a French painter, pastellist and draughtsman.
Life:
Gandara studied Jean-Léon Gérôme at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, from 1876 to 1881. He became a successful society portrait painter, making his début at the Salon of the Société des Artistes Français in 1882 with his portrait of Mlle Dufresne. His portraits show a concern for fashion and decoration over psychological depth, e.g. Woman in Pink (Musée des Beaux-Arts, Nancy).
In December 1891 Comte Robert de Montesquiou-Fezensac arranged that himself and Whistler should borrow part of Gandara's studio at 22 rue Monsieur-le-Prince in the early part of 1892 in order that Whistler paint his portrait, Impressions de gris perle: Comte Robert de Montesquiou-Fezensac y397. Apparently Gandara stood in for Montesquiou on one particular morning. Gandara's work was amongst that shown at the second exhibition of the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, of which Whistler was President, in Knightsbridge from May to July 1899.
Bibliography:
Bénézit, E., Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs, 8 vols, Paris, 1956-61; Leoussi, Athena S. E., 'Antonio de La Gandara', The Grove Dictionary of Art Online, ed. L. Macy, http://www.groveart.com (accessed 1 March 2002).
