Léon Bonnat was a French painter and art collector. He began his training in Madrid, where his father owned a bookshop. In 1854, Bonnat moved to Paris, studied at the École des Beaux-Arts and competed unsuccessfully several times for the Prix de Rome with history paintings and religious subjects. From the late 1850s, Bonnat travelled Italy, Greece and the Middle East. He used the numerous drawings he made on his travels as models for paintings depicting everyday life in these countries. Although these genre scenes were less prestigious than history paintings, Bonnat's works were very popular with collectors. From the mid-1870s, Bonnat specialised almost exclusively in portraiture. He made an international name for himself with his very realistic portraits based on photographs; his clients came from all over Europe and the USA. From 1865, Bonnat taught at the École des Beaux-Arts and also maintained a studio for over 30 years, where he taught numerous students. His students included Gustave Caillebotte and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, but also many painters from Scandinavia and the USA. As an art collector, Bonnat specialised in Old Master drawings, which he bequeathed to his home town. The collection forms the basis of the Musée Bonnat, which was opened in Bayonne in 1924.