Joan of Arc by Jan Toorop

Jan Toorop [Dutch, 1858–1928] :: Jeanne d'Arc - Joan of Arc, 1898. Graphite and colored pencils on tan wove board. | Art Institute of Chicago, “Drawings in Dialogue: Old Master Through Modern“
Jan Toorop [Dutch, 1858–1928] :: Jeanne d’Arc – Joan of Arc, 1898. Graphite and colored pencils on tan wove board. | Art Institute of Chicago, “Drawings in Dialogue: Old Master Through Modern“

Signed recto, lower right, pen and black ink: “J. K. TOOROP”; dated, lower left, in pen and black ink: “1898”; inscribed recto, lower center, in graphite: “IEANNE D’ARC”

Imbued with the sinuous linear style of Toorop’s most celebrated works, this small drawing merges medieval subject matter with the graphic language of Symbolism. Cleverly situated within the voids of a capital letter E, Toorop’s title figure recalls the conventions of medieval manuscript illumination. Indeed, like many of Toorop’s drawings, this work was likely intended for inclusion in a book. The swirling parallel lines in the saint’s hair and the intensity of her downcast posture assert the sympathetic interpretation Toorop offered of this warrior saint, whose canonization was not finalized until 1920.

Eleonora Duse (1858-1924)


Photo A. Champagne. Eleonora Duse. The great Italian tragédienne whose death has mourned the soul of all those who love the Theater in the world. Original: La grande tragédienne italienne de qui la mort a endeuillé l’âme de tous ceu qui dans le monde aiment le Théâtre. Le Théâtre et Comœdia illustré, Mai 1924. | src BnF ~ Gallica
Eleonora Duse als Kameliendame (Phot. Bengue, Paris). UHU Magazin, Sept. 1925. | src Flickr
ELEONORA DUSE, (d’après une sanguine [red chalk drawing] de Roumoff 1892). Le Théâtre et Comœdia illustré, Mai 1924. | src BnF ~ Gallica

Kreuzigung, ca. 1900

Maximilian Kurzweil :: “Kreuzigung” | “Crucifixion”, ca. 1900. Black pen and brush, colored chalks on wove paper; verso figure studies in black chalk. With monogram stamp lower right. Provenance: Felix Landau Gallery, Los Angeles. | src Bassenge and issu

In Ectasy (before 1912)

Adolf Hirémy-Hirschl :: In Ekstase (Studie zu “Sic Transit”). In Ecstasy (Study on ‘Sic Transit’). Charcoal and white chalk on blue-gray laid paper. Preliminary study for the monumental polyptichon “Sic Transit” (1912) in the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna in Rome. The drawing prepares the ghostly female figure that can be seen in the left panel in the right background. – Provenance: From the artist’s estate (stamp on verso). Galleria Carlo Virgilio, Rome (stamp on verso). | src invaluable and Bassenge

Smoke (Fumée), 1926

Louis Icart :: "Smoke, or Fumée", 1926, etching with touches of hand coloring on paper, signed in pencil on lower right, numbered 246 on lower left, with blindstamp. (detail) | src Bidsquare ~ Neue Auctions
Louis Icart :: "Smoke, or Fumée", 1926, etching with touches of hand coloring on paper, signed in pencil on lower right, numbered 246 on lower left, with blindstamp. | src Bidsquare ~ Neue Auctions
Louis Icart :: “Smoke, or Fumée”, 1926, etching with touches of hand coloring on paper, signed in pencil on lower right, numbered 246 on lower left, with blindstamp. (detail) | src Bidsquare ~ Neue Auctions
Louis Icart :: “Smoke, or Fumée”, 1926, etching with touches of hand coloring on paper, signed in pencil on lower right, numbered 246 on lower left, with blindstamp. | src Bidsquare ~ Neue Auctions