Georges Bretegnier Academic Figure Studies

Set of 21 Academic Figure Studies

Attributed to Georges Bretegnier (1868–1892)

This remarkable ensemble of twenty-three original drawings  — offers a rare glimpse into the refined academic training of late 19th-century Paris. Executed in charcoal and black chalk on cream and grey paper, these sheets capture the delicacy of expression, light, and anatomy characteristic of the French academic tradition.

Georges Bretegnier, a gifted student of Jules Lefebvre and Benjamin-Constant at the Académie Julian, died at only twenty-four years old, leaving behind a small but exquisite body of work. These drawings, preserved together, embody the discipline and grace of the atelier practice of his era — a dialogue between observation, sensitivity, and formal precision.

Each study reveals Bretegnier’s mastery of subtle tonal transitions, his attention to the geometry of the human face, and his poetic restraint. The sheets vary between gentle female profiles bathed in soft light and more vigorous male portraits, offering a balanced representation of academic exercises from life.

This cohesive group stands not only as a beautiful collection of drawings, but also as a document of the artist’s development and of the academic ideals that shaped an entire generation of French painters.

Medium: Charcoal and black chalk on cream and grey paper
Dimensions: Each approx. 61 × 46 cm
Condition: Generally very good; some sheets bear partial signatures 
Provenance: Private Collection, Geneva