Seated Female Nude

Here Henri Beau used what is known as the trois crayons technique, applying chalk—black (in this case, charcoal), red and white—on coloured paper. Very popular since the eighteenth century, the technique has often been used for nudes, as it enables the rendering of figures’ contours and volumes, as well as chiaroscuro. Sketched out in a few lines and highlighted with touches of white, the work is marked by spontaneity. Beau studied drawing and painting in Montreal with the priest Joseph Chabert. In 1888, he decided to continue his artistic training in Paris, where he spent the major part of his life.