FA CAZALS - Original signed drawing. Paul VERLAINE on his deathbed.

(Paul VERLAINE) – Frédéric-Auguste CAZALS (1865-1941)

Original signed drawing. Verlaine on his deathbed.


One square octavo page (141 x 147 mm).

(Paris). January 8 evening (1896)

Unpublished drawing in any Verlainian iconography.

____________________________________________

Charcoal and graphite, enhanced with white gouache and watercolor on fine wove paper.

Extraordinary first-hand testimony, representing the poet lying on his bed, on the evening of January 8, 1896, the same day of his death.

Several other drawings or sketches by Cazals depicting Verlaine on his deathbed are known. They are all dated January 9, the day after the poet's death.

Our drawing presented here, made on January 8, just a few hours after the poet's death, offers an overview of the tragic scene, suggesting Cazals' wish to forever fix the setting in which his friend died. : the floral wallpaper, the walnut bed and the white sheets.

This poignant drawing, with its striking atmosphere, has remained unknown to this day.

Traces of folds indicate that the paper seems to have remained, as a relic, in Cazals' pocket or among his papers.