Souvenir of a Castle in Vosges
Beyond his careers as a statesman and a celebrated novelist—writing such classics as "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame" and "Les Misérables"—Hugo was an innovative draftsman, although he kept his drawing practice private. He made many of his drawings, including this one, during his almost twenty-year exile from France on Guernsey, in the Channel Islands, following Napoleon III’s 1851 coup-d’état, which he vocally opposed. On this sheet, Hugo obtained the outline of the castle using a cut-paper stencil, transforming it with his pen and layers of moody wash and atmospheric gouache to evoke a memory from the Vosges Mountains of eastern France.
Artwork Details
- Title: Souvenir of a Castle in Vosges
- Artist: Victor Hugo (French, Besançon 1802–1885 Paris)
- Date: 1857
- Medium: Brush and iron gall washes, pen and iron gall ink, white gouache; outline of castle obtained by using a paper stencil
- Dimensions: sheet: 18 1/2 x 12 3/16 in. (47 x 31 cm)
- Classification: Drawings
- Credit Line: Purchase, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, Donald Young Foundation Gift, Harry G. Sperling Fund, and Mr. and Mrs. David M. Tobey Gift, 2012
- Object Number: 2012.17
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
More Artwork
Related Content
Publications
Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.
Free to download
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.