The Guardhouse, Troyes
1901
Step into early 20th-century France with this atmospheric sketch by Gustave Leheutre. He positions us right at the water's edge of a quiet canal in Troyes, where rough, energetic strokes of grass lead our eyes toward a towering Gothic church in the distance. To the right, tucked under heavy, dark trees, sits the humble 'guardhouse' of the title—a small, unassuming structure that contrasts sharply with the grand architecture behind it. The loose, scratchy lines feel like a rapid snapshot taken on a cloudy afternoon, capturing the vanishing rural edge of a historic city before modern life took over completely.