As you'd expect, I'm a huge fan of tonal realists. Of the whole bunch though, my favorite has to be Leon Bonnat. After all the years I've spent looking at 'Job', it still gives me that electric buzz.
His work has been a huge influence on me. I used the above painting as a guide for this one of mine from some years ago, when I was trying to come to grips with ideas of light and tonal composition, notice the book! (I only link to my painting because a direct side by side comparison would be too painful)
I've never found a good book on Bonnat, I survive on infrequent reproductions in collections and crappy jpegs. Any suggestions would be most welcome!
