Figures Before a Town Hall, Ca 1947, Henry De Waroquier French Ink and Watercolour Mixed Media Drawing

A highly atmospheric mixed-media drawing by the celebrated French painter Henry de Waroquier (1881–1970), executed in pen and ink with coloured chalks.

While modest in scale, the drawing possesses a remarkable immediacy. I particularly like the contrast between the almost calligraphic treatment of the wind-blown tree and the calm geometry of the buildings. Touches of blue, green and ochre chalk lend the composition a quiet luminosity. The result is a work that feels surprisingly modern, poised somewhere between an observed sketch and an autonomous work of art.

The drawing depicts the mairie of a small French town and is inscribed by the artist. It remains housed in its original frame, bearing the label of the Galerie Couleur du Temps, Paris. It is therefore highly likely that the drawing formed part of the gallery's celebrated Paysages de France exhibition of 1947, in which works by leading twentieth-century French painters, including Albert Marquet, were shown.

Henry de Waroquier was one of the most celebrated figures of the French art world of his generation. A close contemporary of the artists of Montparnasse, he moved within the same artistic circles as Amedeo Modigliani and exhibited with many of the leading painters of the period. He was a regular exhibitor at the Salon d'Automne from 1906 onwards, later serving as President of the Painting Section (1945–1963) before becoming Honorary President. His work was exhibited at the British Museum (1930), the Art Institute of Chicago (1932), the Petit Palais in Paris, the Salon des Tuileries, and numerous important international exhibitions throughout his long career.

Today, Waroquier's work is represented in major public collections, and his reputation as one of the leading figures of twentieth-century French painting continues to grow.

The drawing is signed at the lower left and remains in its original gallery frame, a survival that enhances its historical interest. Measuring 14 x 22 cm for the drawing alone, the overall framed size is 35.5 x 40 cm.

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