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Antoine de SAINT-EXUPERY

[Dessin original signé] Caricature à la mine de plomb et crayons de couleur

s.l. s.d. [1942], 13,4x20,9cm, une feuille.

Original drawing signedCaricature in graphite and coloured pencil
[1942] ◇ 13,4 x 20,9 cm ◇ one leaf


Original drawing with graphite, blue and pink colored pencils signed by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, on a sheet of watermarked paper “Navarre”. Hor­izontal fold, pencil annotation in the upper left margin, very small loss of paper in the lower right margin.

A remarkable caricature signed by Saint-Exupéry, akin to a cartoon character. The writer-aviator-artist very rarely signed his graphic works.

 

« Je ne sais pas ce qui m'a pris, je dessine toute la journée et de ce fait les heures me paraissent moins brèves. J'ai découvert ce pourquoi j'étais fait : le crayon Conté mine de charbon. »

 

 [‘I don't know what came over me; I draw all day, and the hours seem less fleeting as a result. I've discovered my true calling: the charcoal Conté pencil.']

From sketches of barrack mates made in Casablanca during his military service to the watercolours in The Little Prince, Saint-Exupéry's life also included an important side-activity: drawing. On letters to his friends, in the margins of his manuscripts, in books he gave away, telegrams, invoices, tablecloths, leaflets - everything he could get his hands on that could serve as a canvas for his imagination - Saint-Exupéry drew, sketched, caricatured, illustrated, invented and doodled living and imaginary people, friends and girlfriends. He would often casually discard these ephemeral works, extensions of his moods and daydreams.
Among his drawings which exhibit an astonishing variety of styles, this mustachioed head stands out as one of the most accomplished examples of what his sister Simone called his “dreadful caricatures” — she herself along with many of the writer's friends was a frequent victim of his graph­ic parodies. The drawing showcases Saint-Exupéry's fondness for shades of blue and pink, which often enliven his colored drawings. Far from being sketched in the margins, the drawing is distinguished by its intentionality: the writer took the trouble to sign it which is a rare occurence. The colored high­lights and contrasting graphite give it a delightful cartoonish look with its eyes bulging out.

Precisely dating Saint-Exupéry's drawings remains challenging. As The Little Prince began to take shape, he started from his time in New York to systematically preserve his sketches. Before his American exile, most of his earlier drawings—apart from those made in the margins of letters and manuscripts or given as gifts to friends—were discarded by the author.
 
Precious graphic creation by the fa­ther of The Little Prince, an import­ant example of his drawings' extraor­dinary vibrancy and keen sense of contrast.
 
 

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