This biography from the Archives of AskART:
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 Leon Bonnat was known for his portrait painting and teaching, having
been the Director beginning 1905 of the Ecole des Beaux Arts in
Paris. He was born in Bayonne, but from 1846 to 1853, he lived in
Madrid, Spain, where his father owned a bookshop. In Madrid he received
his artistic training under Madrazo.
He later worked in Paris, where he became known as a leading
portraitist, never without a commission. His many portraits show
the influence of Velázquez, Ribera and other Spanish masters, as well
as Titian and Van Dyke, whose works he studied in the Prado.
Following the period in Spain, Bonnat worked in Leon Cogniet's atelier
(1854) then spent three years in the French Academy in Rome (1858-60).
He won a medal of honor in Paris in 1869, where he became one of the
leading artists of his day. Bonnat went on to win the Grand Officer of
the Légion d'honneur and became a professor at the Ecole des Beaux Arts
in 1882. Bonnat was quite popular with American students in
Paris. He spoke several languages and knew English well, to the relief
of many monolingual Americans. In May 1905, he succeeded Paul
Dubois as director of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Bonnat "was a liberal
teacher who stressed simplicity in art above high academic finish, as
well as overall effect rather than detail," explains Julius Kaplan (see
References)
Bonnat's vivid portrait-painting is his most characteristic work, but his history paintings, such as the Martyrdom of St Denis
in the Pantheon, are also famous. Bonnat was one of Édouard
Manet's friends—both shared a love of Spanish painting, and he worked
with Pierre Puvis de Chavannes. Bonnat founded a museum in his native
city, donating his collection of old master drawings. The artist died
in 1922.
Some of Bonnat's more notable students include: Gustave Caillebotte,
Suzor-Coté, Georges Braque, Thomas Eakins, Raoul Dufy, Marius Vasselon,
Fred Barnard, Aloysius O'Kelly, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Léon_Bonnat
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