Nicolas Albert Bettannier (12 August 1851 – 17 November 1932), usually known as Albert Bettannier, was a French painter in the era of the

French Third Republic The French Third Republic (french: Troisième République, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 19 ...

Life

Bettannier was born in

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...

in 1851 the son of Jean Bettannier and Marie Bellatte. He studied in the Moselle department. After the ceding of his native region Alsace-Lorraine to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

following the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War of 1871, he decided to keep his French nationality and moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. He enrolled in the ''

Académie des beaux-arts An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

'' where he followed courses given by

Henri Lehmann Henri Lehmann (; 14 April 1814 – 30 March 1882) was a German-born French historical painter and portraitist. Life Born Heinrich Salem Lehmann in Kiel, in the Duchy of Holstein, he received his first art tuition from his father Leo Lehmann ( ...

and

Isidore Pils Isidore-Alexandre-Augustin Pils (1815–1875) was a French academic painter of religious and military subjects. Biography Pils was born in Paris as the son of a soldier François Pils. At the age of twelve, he studied with Guillaume Guillon-Le ...

. From 1881 onwards, he acquired some notoriety in the ''

Salon des artistes français The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art ...

'', where he frequently showed paintings depicting the loss of Alsace-Lorraine to Germany. He was a fierce proponent of French

revanchism Revanchism (french: revanchisme, from ''revanche'', "revenge") is the political manifestation of the will to reverse territorial losses incurred by a country, often following a war or social movement. As a term, revanchism originated in 1870s Fr ...

. The loss of Alsace-Lorraine was a recurring theme in his work. Albert Bettannier was awarded the

Legion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

in 1908 for his work as a painter. He died on 17 November 1932 and is buried at Vaugirard Cemetery in Paris.

Work

* ''La Tache noire'' (The Black Spot), Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin, 1887 * ''Le désespoir'' (The Despair), Musée de l'Ermitage, Saint-Pétersbourg, 1893 * ''La Conquête de la Lorraine'' (The Conquest of Lorraine), 1910 * ''L'Oiseau de France'' (The Bird of France), 1912.

Gallery

Image:The Geography Lesson or "The Black Spot".jpg, Image:Albert Bettannier (1851-1932). Les annexés en Lorraine (1883) (Cour d'Or Metz - Gravelotte).jpg, Image:Albert Bettannier (1851-1932). Les annexés en Alsace (1911) (Cour d'Or Metz - Gravelotte).jpg, Image:L Oiseau de France.jpg, Image:An Auction at the Hotel Drouot, Paris.jpg,

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bettannier, Albert 1851 births 1932 deaths Artists from Metz 19th-century French painters French male painters 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists 19th-century French male artists