Madame Victor Hugo
1829
Eugène Devéria captured the likeness of Adèle Foucher, soon to be Madame Victor Hugo, in this intimate 1829 sketch. The drawing shows her with a thoughtful gaze and a mass of tight curls, rendered with quick, energetic strokes that leave her clothing beautifully unfinished. Created just before her famous marriage to the literary giant Victor Hugo, this portrait offers a rare, unpolished glimpse into the Romantic era's private circles. Devéria, a close friend of the couple, used his swift pencil work to freeze a fleeting moment of youthful elegance before the whirlwind of their legendary lives took over.
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