Christian Bérard

The Beauties and the Beast, Original Watercolour Study of Theatrical Characters

1940s

French, Mid Century, pastel and crayon portrait of an elegant young lady by Gourdon. Signed and dated bottom left. Trade label to the back board. Presented in period deep 'tray' frame. This seems to be an early work by the artist and hence it carries his name rather than his later more distinctive signature 'Aslan'. Alain Gordon was one of two brothers, his sibling Michel also went on to achieve notable success with his distinctive 'comic' style. Alain Gourdon...

A sanguine coloured watercolour, gouache and ink drawing of a stylised head with intricate floral and head motifs on the hand drawn mount. The work is initial signed bottom right 'AE...

Denis Auguste Raffet (1804-1860) Studies of characters Black pencil and watercolor on paper 18.5 x 25.5 cm Stamp of the Raffet Estate Sale (1911) on the lower right In good condition, foxings on the original mount Framed 34 x 40 cm Denis Auguste Marie Raffet (2 March 1804 – 16 February 1860) was a French illustrator and lithographer. He was a student of Nicolas Toussaint Charlet, and was a retrospective painter of the Empire. At an early age he was apprenticed to a wood turner, but took up the study of art at evening classes. At the age of 18 he entered the workshop of Cabanel, where he applied his skill to the decoration of china, and where he met Rudor, from whom he received instruction in lithography, in the practice of which he was to rise to fame. He then entered the École des Beaux-Arts, but returned to lithography in 1830 when he produced on stone his famous designs of Lützen, Waterloo, Le bal, La revue, and Les adieux de la garrison, by which his reputation became immediately established.[ Raffet's chief works were his lithographs of the Napoleonic campaigns, from Egypt to Waterloo, vigorous designs inspired by ardent patriotic enthusiasm. In this endeavor he was a contemporary of other French artist-lithographers of Napoleon and the French army including Hippolyte Bellangé, Horace Vernet, and Nicolas Toussaint Charlet. As an illustrator his activity was prodigious, the list of works illustrated by his crayon amounting to about forty-five, among which are Béranger's poems, the History of the Revolution by Adolphe Thiers, the History of Napoleon by de Norvins, the great Walter Scott by Auguste Defauconpret, the French Plutarch and Frédéric Bérat's Songs. He went to Rome in 1849, and was present at the siege of Rome, which he made the subject of some lithographs, and followed the Italian campaign of 1859, of which he left a record in his Episodes de la campagne d'Italie de 1859. His portraits in pencil...

Louis Gallait (1810-1887) Portrait of a Gentleman, Watercolor and gouache on paper, square white lines, 24 x 16 cm Stamp of the Louis Gallait Estate on the mount on the lower righ...