Delaroche Paul – Costumed Characters – Watercolor Drawings, Sheet 2 – Circa 1830 – Monogrammed

The work is composed of 11 costumed characters in the style of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, gathered on a sheet. 10 of these drawings are watercolored. All are annotated by the artist's hand.
Known for his history paintings, Hippolyte, known as Paul Delaroche, has an extreme attention to detail and historical reality. This is shown by his very numerous annotations, on each of the costumes.
The sheet is monogrammed HD at the bottom right. It is in excellent condition and has been kept away from light. It is placed under glass, offered in a sober modern frame in light oak.
It comes from the Vernet-Delaroche family, descendants of the artist. Note: a second sheet of costumed characters, from the same set, is sold in our gallery.

The artist
Hippolyte Delaroche, known as Paul Delaroche, was born in Paris in 1797. His father is an expert in paintings and an art dealer.
The young Hippolyte became a student of Louis-Etienne Watelet and then of Antoine-Jean Gros. He exhibited for the first time in 1822 at the Salon and attracted the attention of Géricault.
From 1824, his works were increasingly noticed. He quickly became immensely famous, as a history painter, a genre considered the most "noble" at the time. But Delaroche was not content to paint banal historical scenes. He invented the genre of "historical anecdote", which puts the subjects in motion and gives pride of place to their emotions.
Around 1830, he fully participated in the Romantic revolution. The saturated colors of his works, his treatment of modern episodes (death of Elizabeth I of England, Life of Napoleon I...) or older ones (with a predilection for the Renaissance), perfectly met the aspirations and aesthetics of his time. Delaroche was then covered in honors: he was elected to the Institute at the age of 35. He was the youngest member of this institution and represented the painting of his time, compared to the classics inspired by David. In 1834 he was appointed professor at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, where he trained many students. His public successes and his work as a teacher meant that his aesthetic would have a lasting influence on European art and would be appreciated in all circles.
He stopped exhibiting from 1836, but worked tirelessly. He painted for all the major French institutions, and in particular for Versailles. He died in Paris in 1856.

Paul Delaroche's works are exhibited in many French museums (Louvre Museum, Château de Versailles, Museums of Fine Arts in Nantes, Toulouse, Montpellier, etc.) and European museums (Hamburg Kunsthalle, Wallace Collection and National Gallery in London, etc.) and beyond (Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Museum of Fine Arts in Montreal, Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, etc.). In 2012, the Louvre Museum dedicated a retrospective to Paul Delaroche. His works, especially watercolors and drawings, have been the subject of numerous public sales.

Work visible at the gallery (07240). ​​​​​​​
Shipping: contact us for shipping costs in France and abroad.