Dying Woman (la Mourante) 1885

Paul-Albert Besnard created this etching, titled "Dying Woman", using a drypoint technique. The image presents a stark, intimate portrayal of mortality that reflects a broader fascination in late 19th-century French culture with the themes of death and the human body. This interest in the human body, and particularly that of the female nude, was a subject of debates within the French artistic establishment, especially at institutions such as the École des Beaux-Arts and the various Salons. Besnard was a prominent figure in these circles and his choice to depict a dying woman invites us to consider the era's shifting attitudes toward women, illness, and the representation of the body in art. Is this a naturalistic depiction or does it veer into the sentimental and sensationalist? To understand this artwork fully, historians might consult contemporary medical texts, art criticism, and social histories. In doing so, we will come to see art as a product of and a contributor to the social and institutional discourses of its time.