Contact gallery for price		Victor-Jean Nicolle 1754 – Paris – 1826 Landscape with a Man and Ruins Brush and sanguine wash on paper 2 2/8 x 4 1/4 inches (71 x 105 mm) Lugt Supplement 1430a, lower center Provenance: Collection of Jean-Camille Jammes Victor-Jean Nicolle was a painter of architecture, as well as a draftsman and engraver. He was trained by Petit-Randel. His work can be found in many French museums in Paris and Rouen. The most important collector of Nicolle drawings, Jean-Camille Jammes, compiled an album of 240 drawings, many of which were sold at a single auction by Thesmar, Paris, in November 1953. Our drawing is a romantic depiction of a figure seated on the steps of a ruined stone building in a landscape. The portrayal of the seated peasant describes a poignant moment of a man lost in contemplation. His shoulders are slightly hunched forward, and his gaze fixes on the ground. To the left, a small stone bridge with a single arch spans a stream, and to the right is a tranquil pond. The elegant staircase and sweeping archways of the stone tower are nearly eclipsed by overgrowth. Nicolle executes the ruins in rich detail, an aspect also found in the surrounding foliage and grassy slopes. Such detailed descriptions, however, retain intimacy in the small scale of the picture. The delicate handling of brown washes fits the subject matter in its softness, and creates a hazy, dreamlike atmosphere with subtle gradations of pale and dark washes. Though Nicolle achieves a blurred effect, the stylistic elements display a concern for texture and color. The coherence between the idealized, romantic subject and atmosphere demonstrate the mastery of the artist with his brush and sanguine washes.