{"title":"Charcoal","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"portrait-of-john-seymour-lucas","title":"Portrait of John Seymour Lucas","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAlphonse Legros 1837-1911, was a French painter and sculptor, who lived in London from 1863 until his death in 1911. He was a teacher of etching and drawing and became Slade Professor of Art at University College London and prior to that taught at the South Kensington School, he taught by way of demonstration rather than instruction and taught his pupils to draw from memory which is what this picture displays. The picture was drawn in 1907 and yet Lucas was approaching 60 years old at the time, Legros knew Lucas from his early days in England and presented him here as when he first knew him , in his early 20's. Legros was a superb draughtsman and instructed his pupils how to draw from memory which is a vitally important skill if you want to become a painter. This is a museum quality drawing and is is rare for Legros as his drawings are sometimes unfinished or reduced to a sketch, this is a completed study and probably drawn within an hour, this was the aim of Legros in teaching to show his pupils that it was possible to achieve such quality in so short a time. In my view one of the best draughtsman in pencil and charcoal of all time.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Alphonse Legros","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57208623825241,"sku":null,"price":5905.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0969\/9957\/1801\/files\/1_494e1548-acf0-46a1-82bb-1a58eafa6ea4.png?v=1771409356"},{"product_id":"portrait-of-an-unknown-sitter-thought-to-be-american","title":"Portrait of an unknown sitter thought to be American","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAlphonse Legros 1837-1911, was a French painter and sculptor, who lived in London from 1863 until his death in 1911. He was a teacher of etching and drawing and became Slade Professor of Art at University College London and prior to that taught at the South Kensington School, he taught by way of demonstration rather than instruction and taught his pupils to draw from memory which is what this picture displays. The picture was drawn in 1907 which we know from the Infrared imaging of the watermark, Legros would almost certainly have known this sitter from his early days in England and presented him here as when he first knew him , in his early 20's, and this drawing would have been used to demonstrate his ability to draw from memory. Legros believed in instructing his pupils how to draw from memory which is a vitally important skill if you want to become a painter. This is a museum quality drawing and is is rare for Legros as his drawings are sometimes unfinished or reduced to a sketch, this is a completed study and probably drawn within an hour, this was the aim of Legros in teaching to show his pupils that it was possible to achieve such quality in so short a time. In my view one of the best draughtsman in pencil and charcoal of all time. As we are unsure of the sitter we do think this is an American artist who lived in the UK, and knew Legros . John Singer Sargent drew a similar picture in charcoal of Keith MacLeod although somewhat inferior to this and there maybe a possibility that this sitter is he. Enclosed are photos of Legros the master and of his signature which at some point was adapted by an unknown miscreant. The signature of John Singer Sargent has been adapted from the Alphonse Legros one that was the original signature, any doubts can easily be rectified if you place a Legros signature and superimpose a Sargent over it you will see where the signature has been deliberately adjusted, we studied around 700-800 Legros signatures and the same for Sargent's signature, after a full examination it was certainly noticeable that Sargent signed his works with a 'G' that looks like a 'Q' and the Legros signature is written with a large loop on the 'G'. The only difference therefore displays the difference in the signatures and it is very obvious how the signature has been changed. The reason for the deliberate forging of Sargent's signature is because picture of this quality in Sargent's hand would probably be worth around £60K -£80K,and the Legros drawing is of a considerable difference. This picture is signed albeit falsely. I have included a further biography of Alphonse Legros for your information. Alphonse Legros (1837–1911) was a French painter, etcher, and sculptor, best known for his sombre realism and his influential role in the revival of etching in the 19th century. Born in Dijon to a working-class family, Legros moved to Paris as a young man, where he trained briefly at the École des Beaux-Arts and became associated with the circle of Gustave Courbet and the Realist movement. Legros’s art rejected academic idealisation in favour of plain, often austere depictions of rural life, religious subjects, and human suffering. His paintings and prints are marked by dark tonalities, strong modelling, and a grave, introspective mood, reflecting both his sympathy for ordinary people and his moral seriousness. Alongside painting, he became an exceptional etcher and medallist, admired for his technical mastery and expressive line. In 1863 Legros settled permanently in England, where his reputation flourished. He was appointed Slade Professor of Fine Art at University College London in 1876, a post he held for nearly two decades. As a teacher, he had a profound impact on British art, encouraging close observation, disciplined technique, and respect for craftsmanship. His students included artists who would shape late Victorian and Edwardian art. By the end of his life, Legros was recognised as a key figure linking French Realism with British artistic practice. His work is represented in major museum collections, and he remains respected for both his art and his lasting influence as a teacher and printmaker.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Alphonse Legros","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57272317739353,"sku":null,"price":4250.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0969\/9957\/1801\/files\/1_212a619a-a25e-4265-9364-478a4fe1bc07.png?v=1771352699"},{"product_id":"kneeling-nude","title":"Kneeling Nude","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMortimer Luddington Menpes, 1855-1938, was an Australian born English painter, printmaker, illustrator and author. Menpes left Australia in his early twenties with his family and came to London where he studied at the Royal Academy and other art institutions. In the 1880's he travelled to France where he met and befriended James McNeil Whistler and fell under his influence of Japanese art and motifs, following his travels to Japan he returned to London where he had his first one man exhibition. It was a great commercial success and it inspired him to travel further afield where he visited , India, Burma, China, Italy, Spain, and many other countries, and during the Boer War he travelled to South Africa as a war artist. Menpes was an efficient anecdotalist and attended and hosted many fashionable parties in London, where he mixed with all the high society personages of the time and he was also Godfather to Oscar Wilde's son Vyvyan. This picture of a seated nude is monogrammed MM and this is identical in all the Artist Signature and Monogram books that we have where we searched to identify the artist. However having concluded that this is most likely his own identification mark we are bound to offer this drawing as his own work but with the reserved position of attribution. During the period when Menpes was most prolific he would have been aware of the post impressionist painters in France, it is therefore assumed that this drawing is possibly influenced by his trips to Japan and also Amadeo Modigliani which to those familiar with his work should be able to see the similarity. The frame is modern and sufficient but as personal taste in frames is a difficult subject to breach we have left this frame in place and we have adjusted the price of the picture, as is, accordingly.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Attributed to: Mortimer Menpes","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57539615687001,"sku":null,"price":3750.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0969\/9957\/1801\/files\/1740938150582_master.jpg?v=1776859488"},{"product_id":"cupid-carving-his-bow","title":"Cupid Carving His Bow","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCupid Carving His Bow (After Parmigianino) and we believe to be within the circle of Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640), This rare, double-sided sheet features a line drawing executed in brown ink on laid paper, depicting a full-length, winged Cupid facing three-quarters to the right as he leans forward to carve his bow from the club of Hercules. Recto (Front View) Shows the complete composition rendered in a fluid, confident contour outline with minimal internal shading, emphasizing muscular anatomy reminiscent of the Flemish Baroque tradition. Verso (Reverse View): Reveals that the drawing is an artistic pricking canvas or transfer cartoon, heavily perforated along the primary ink lines for enabling a pouncing technique. This indicates the drawing was intended to transfer the design onto another surface, such as a panel, canvas, or printmaking plate, by dusting charcoal powder through the holes. The subject directly replicates the central figure from Parmigianino’s famous Mannerist masterpiece, Cupid Making His Bow (c. 1533–1535, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna). However, while Parmigianino’s original composition captures Cupid looking back seductively over his left shoulder at the viewer, this specific variation features an adjusted head angle with Cupid looking downward at his work, a softer facial profile, and a more robust, athletic physique. Images from this drawing was formally inspected by the prominent art historian and Northern Baroque specialist Prof. Dr. Nils Büttner. While Dr. Büttner could not assign a definitive attribution to a specific hand, the muscular modeling of the wings, the heavy proportions of the putto, and we ourselves at the Vaughan Gallery are sanguine enough to attribute the energetic contours that strongly align with the workshop circle and expressive style of Peter Paul Rubens. Rubens famously studied and copied Parmigianino’s Cupid Making His Bow during his career, with his own painted copy now residing in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. Brown ink on laid paper, extensively pricked for transfer (pouncing). Date: Mid-17th Century. Visible aging consistent with the period, minor edge fraying, and a small historic corner repair at the top left. This picture is unsigned and is a rare 17th century example of a confident and extremely competent draughtsman, as such the artist deeming to copy a famous work by Parmigianino, and the manner of the depiction is within the style and circle of Peter Paul Rubens ( 1577 -1640 ) .\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Peter Paul Rubens","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":58869037400409,"sku":"KA 211","price":9500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0969\/9957\/1801\/files\/1_3799a3d0-56e8-4ab1-928c-7622e5c995c0.png?v=1787304993"}],"url":"https:\/\/vaughanfineart.im\/collections\/charcoal.oembed","provider":"Vaughan Fine Art","version":"1.0","type":"link"}