Antonio de La Gandara

Antonio de La Gándara (16 December 1861 – 30 June 1917) was a French painter, pastellist and draughtsman of the Belle Époque. Early lifeLa Gándara was born in Paris, France, but his father was of Spanish ancestry, born in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, and his mother was from England. La Gándara's talent was strongly influenced by both cultures. At only 15 years of age, La Gándara was admitted as a student of Jean-Léon Gérôme and Cabanel at the École des Beaux-Arts. Soon, he was recognized by the jury of the 1883 Salon des Champs-Élysées, who singled out the first work he ever exhibited: a portrait of Saint Sebastian. CareerLess than ten years later, young La Gándara had become one of the favourite artists of the Paris élite. His models included Countess Greffulhe, the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg, Clara Ward - Princesse de Caraman-Chimay, Prince Edmond de Polignac, the Prince de Sagan, Charles Leconte de Lisle, Paul Verlaine, Leonor Uriburu de Anchorena, Sarah Bernhardt, Romaine Brooks, Jean Moreas, Winnaretta Singer, and Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau (seen below, and more famously portrayed by John Singer Sargent in his painting Madame X). Influenced by Chardin, his