LONDON.- Colnaghi Elliot's "Drawings from the 19th Century" comprises a varied group of drawings spanning the entire 19th century. As with their previous exhibition, the show is full of forgotten artists who the gallery have enjoyed researching and bringing to light. They are exhibiting several newly discovered drawings by woman artists, all of which are important examples of their type.

The show has been running during London Art Week since 30th June to 7th July 2023. Interestingly, both the earliest and latest sheets in the show are academic head studies by French woman artists, demonstrating the continuity of training methods for female artists during this period.

Opening the show chronologically is a powerful and large-scale head study from circa 1800 by Pauline Auzou, a pioneering figure who had multiple Salon success in the early 19th century, eventually opening a school for women artists. At the other end of the century, the gallery is exhibiting two beautiful head studies by the very little-known Marguerite Dubois, of note not only for their quality but also for the insight they give into the life-class at the Académie Julian and the use of non-European sitters as models.

Within the show the gallery also has a group of fin-de-siècle works by women artists, all of impressive quality and contextually fascinating. These include a captivating watercolour by the society hostess Madeleine Lemaire, a refined hand study by Virginie Demont-Breton, a handsome portrait by Marthe La Lyre Levesques, of her husband the artist Adolphe La Lyre, and an enigmatically beautiful Art Nouveau pastel by Camille Métra.

Amongst many other works, the gallery is showing important drawings by the leading academic artists Jean-Léon Gérôme, Carl Leopold Müller and Charles Verlat.

Colnaghi Elliot
"Drawings from the 19th Century"
June 30th, 2023 - July 7th, 2023