Portrait de Madeleine Carlier Assise, au Boa de Fourrure. Madeleine Carlier Seated with a Feather Boa. by Paul Helleu, 1859-1927

Paul Helleu, 1859-1927
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Portrait de Madeleine Carlier Assise, au Boa de Fourrure. Madeleine Carlier Seated with a Feather Boa.

Original drypoint in two tones of brown ink, overworked by Helleu in rust-red crayon and pencil, c. 1900. Signed in pencil. An exceptional and unique proof with additional work. Size of issued edition (the print alone without the overworking) not known but probably c.50 impressions. In this form unique.

Superb rich impression with burr and tone. On pale cream light wove paper. Extremely fine condition. With good margns. Sheet: 24 7/8x16 5/8ins. Plate: 213/8x13 l/8ins (543x332mm)

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This work is executed in rich drypoint, inked in two tones of red/brown and then extensively overworked in crayon and pencil. It is an especially beautiful example of Helleu's work in mixed media.

Drawn around the turn-of-the century this portrait of the society beauty Madeleine Carlier shows Helleu's draughtsmanship at the peak of his inspiration. It has line with an
extraordinary beauty of flow and curve, texture which adds a further dimension of tone and richness, and a subtle delicacy of drawing which ranges from the most evocative of shading and the most sensitive of fine detail to dramatic sweeps of the most tactile. Helleu's drypoints stand as the epitome of Belle Epoque style and elegance; to the drypoint in this work he added the further dimension of accents in pencil and chalk. It shows how, at its finest, his drawing and printmaking could be combined to create an imagery which is incomparable in its expression both of the atmosphere of an age and of the timeless beauty of the art of drawing itself.

An exceptionally fine example of Helleu's drawing at the height of his inspiration.