Skippings Fine Arts has dated this Antique Charcoal Figure Study to the 1920s.
They are imbued with almost heroic gravity: de Groux depicts the working class not as victims, but as statuesque, almost biblical figures. The central figure looking upward gives the scene a sense of stoic longing.
De Groux was a tempestuous figure in the Belgian and French art scenes, famously expelled from "Les XX" for refusing to exhibit alongside Van Gogh. Our drawing captures that same restless, rebellious energy.
De Groux utilises a "nervous" and frantic charcoal application to build form and atmosphere, creating a scene that feels both grounded in reality and elevated by a sense of drama.
Heavy chiaroscuro—achieved through dense, velvety charcoal layers—provides a remarkable sense of physical mass.
Henri de Groux remains one of the most fascinating "outsiders" of the early 20th-century avant-garde. After his expulsion from Les XX, he settled in Paris in 1891. There he produced the majority of his work and associated with other artists such as Toulouse-Lautrec, Whistler ,Gauguin, Ensor and Rodin. He also frequented numerous writers, including Mallarmé, Apollinaire, Oscar Wilde, Verlaine and Gide.
He took sides in the Dreyfus Affair and ensured Zola's protection from the hostile crowd outside the courthouse.
De Groux' work is held in major institutional collections, including the Musée d'Orsay and the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium. The drawing is titled at the lower left, and signed and dated 1923 at the lower right. Measuring 64 x 48 cm , the overall size including an ebonised oak frame is 67 x 52 cm
Skippings Fine Arts has dated this Antique Charcoal Figure Study to the 1920s.
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Awaiting the Boat, 1923: Large Scale Study by Musée D'orsay Artist Charcoal on Paper Drawing
