Portrait of a Woman

Paul Albert Besnard was president of the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts while Xu Beihong was studying in France.
The inscription on the painting reads: “To my friend Xu Beihong -Albert Besnard, 28 July 1933, Paris.” Besnard held an exhibition of Chinese art at the Musée du Jeu de Paume that year, and Besnard gave Xu this gift when the Chinese artist visited his home.
-Chantal Beauvalot