Collection: Bernard d'Agesci

Bernard d'Agesci (pseudonym of Augustin Bernard, 1757–1828) was a French painter active in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Born in Niort, he trained in the academic tradition of the period, specializing in religious and mythological scenes alongside portraiture. His work reflects the transition from late Rococo to early Neoclassicism, marked by a restrained palette and precise draftsmanship.

D'Agesci’s compositions often centered on historical or allegorical narratives, following academic classicism. His "Lady Reading the Letters of Heloise and Abelard" (c. 1780) demonstrates this approach, combining literary subject matter with a controlled, linear technique. His portraits, while similarly formal, sometimes show attention to individual features rather than idealized conventions.