Paul-César Helleu (Vannes 1859-1927 Paris)

This attractive sketch depicts a young woman reclining on a deck chair, her features partly obscured by yachting attire. A hint of flaming red hair underneath her hat, however, suggests she may be Helleu’s wife and favorite model, Alice Guérin. The two met in 1884, when Helleu was commissioned to paint his future wife’s portrait, now preserved in the Musée Bonnat-Helleu, Bayonne (inv. CMNI 3037; F. de Watrigant, Paul-César Helleu, Paris, 2014, p. 14, ill.). A talented illustrator of the Belle époque, Helleu drew acclaim not only for his oil paintings, but also his drypoints, etchings and intimate pastels and drawings, of which the present work is a fine example.