Paul Albert Besnard (1849-1936) was a French painter, printmaker, and designer. Edward Steichen met him through Auguste Rodin and photographed Besnard in 1902. 

Besnard’s portrait was published in Camera Work in April 1903 when photographs by Steichen were printed for the first time ever. Steichen prepared the photographic paper unevenly before printing this picture, creating a painterly effect that resembles brushstrokes. The photograph almost looks like an Impressionist painting, similar to the portraits for which Albert Besnard was famous.