Seated Man and Woman

This drawing shows Célestin Nanteuil’s accomplishments as both a fine artist and illustrator. On one side, a couple converses, depicted in dense areas of ink—a practice Nanteuil learned from his friend, the author and artist Victor Hugo. Nanteuil scratched into these dark areas to create highlights. The back of the sheet features casually sketched vignettes, probably designed to accompany text in a book.