G4-original Drawing-paul And Virginia-slavery-st-maurice Island-1811

VIRGINIE FEEDS A SLAVE IN MAURITIUS Virginie gives food and drink to a Maroon, an African woman who escaped from slavery in Mauritius SCENE FROM PAUL AND VIRGINIE by Jacques Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre (Novel first published in 1788) DRAWING-CHAROCOL-WASH AND PENCIL 334 mm x 410 mm With the handwritten note at the bottom of the drawing "Made by Magdeleine Roques, aged 19 on February 20, 1811" Paul and Virginie are raised as brother and sister by two single mothers in the natural splendor of the tropical landscapes of Mauritius, and in isolation from the rest of the world. They lead an idyllic life bathed in virtue, simplicity and altruism, living from the work of their hands and what nature provides them. In her drawing, Magdeleine Roques perfectly reproduces the atmosphere in which Paul and Virginie spent their childhood. They live in harmony with a nature rich in vegetation, in an almost heavenly setting. This exoticism is reminiscent of tales featuring Adam and Eve. We see that nature has not been perverted by the hands of man, but on the contrary that it has kept its authentic purity, that it has remained virgin. Leafy trees climb up the lintels of the cabin door, the table is placed on a carpet of grass. This is the spirit that emerges from this drawing: purity, virginity, love of God and his creation, and respect for it whether it is plant or human. SOLD WITH ITS CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY