GÉRARD-SÉGUIN (Jean Alfred Gérard-Séguin)
Balzac portraitist starves during the Paris Commune - autograph letter signed
s. n.|Paris 20 floréal an 79 19 mai [19 mai 1871?]|13 x 20.5 cm|3 pages sur un bifeuillet
Autograph letter signed and dated "20 floréal year 79 19 May" [19 May 1871?], 3 pages on a bifolium of blue paper. Small lack of paper affecting a few letters, usual folds from mailing.
Rare letter by painter and illustrator Gérard-Séguin, known for his portrait of Honoré de Balzac (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Tours). Written in the midst of the Paris Commune, as famine and fighting ravaged the capital, the artist delivers a desperate yet spirited plea from the artist.
This letter is one of the few surviving manuscripts by Gérard-Séguin whose biography remains largely unknown: "Little is known about the life and work of Jean Alf
€1,000