Benjamin-Marie-Albert André began his career by surrounding himself with the great impressionist painters of his time; Paul Cézanne, Louis Valtat, Henry Bataille and most significantly, Pierre-August Renoir. Over the past years, André developed his own unique style that set him apart from his contemporaries. He identified himself with the Post-Impressionists and place greater emphasis on form and content than on surface appearance. Post-Impressionism was both an extension of Impressionism and a rejection of its limitations. Many Post-Impressionists continued using vivid colors, thick application of paint, distinctive brushstrokes and real-life subject matter, but they were more inclined to emphasize geometric forms to distort form for expressive effect, and to use unnatural or arbitrary color. Other Post-Impressionists like André attempted to show the world as it actually is. André channeled this concept with his unpretentious appreciation of the simplest things of everyday life and of nature, a quality also found in the paintings of his old friend, Renoir. André compiled two books on Renoir that expressed his admiration for Renoir's inspiration to paint what was around him.
Bagatelle au Bois de Boulogne by Benjamin-Marie-Albert André, painted in 1898, captures a serene afternoon in one of Paris’s most elegant parks. The composition balances architectural structure and natural beauty, the pale façade of the pavilion to the right contrasts with the lush greens of the surrounding gardens and the expansive blue sky overhead. Figures stroll or rest on the lawn, their presence adding a gentle human rhythm to the idyllic scene.
Executed in loose, vibrant brushwork, the painting reflects the lingering influence of French Impressionism, which by the end of the 19th century had transformed approaches to color, light, and open-air painting. André’s work shows awareness of the movement’s emphasis on atmospheric effects and transient light, while retaining a more structured, classical sense of composition. His palette, bright yet tempered, suggests both the immediacy of plein air painting and a reflective nostalgia for balance and order, characteristic of post-Impressionist sensibilities emerging at the turn of the century.