Eugène Romain Van Maldeghem (1813-1867) - L’Homme au balai – Timbre sec de l’atelier

Original drawing by Romain-Eugène Van Maldeghem (1813-1867), Belgian painter and draftsman of the 19th century, executed in pencil on paper.

The work depicts a standing man holding a long broom, a pipe in his mouth. The character, shown full-length and isolated on a deliberately bare background, is studied with particular attention paid to his posture, his physiognomy and his costume. The delicate work with pencil and hatching allows the artist to build the volumes and the shadows while preserving the spontaneity of a study made on the spot.

The drawing bears, at the bottom right, a dry stamp of the artist's studio, visible on the work.

Romain-Eugène Van Maldeghem (1813-1867) is a Belgian artist active in the 19th century. Trained in the context of the Belgian school of that period, he belongs to a generation deeply marked by Romanticism and academic tradition. He was notably a pupil of Gustaf Wappers (1803-1874), a major figure of Belgian Romanticism. Van Maldeghem developed a figurative oeuvre in which drawing and the study of the human figure play an important role. His works on paper testify to his interest in observing attitudes, costumes and different types of people.

This study of a man with a broom constitutes a fine example of this observational work: far from official portraiture, the artist here focuses on a popular, everyday figure, captured with simplicity and precision.

Artist: Romain-Eugène Van Maldeghem (1813-1867)
School: Belgian, 19th century
Subject: Man with a broom, pipe in mouth
Technique: pencil on paper
Dimensions: 34 × 27 cm
Mark: dry stamp of the studio at the bottom right
Style: figurative / Romanticism
Original work

The paper shows an antique patina as well as foxing and small stains and traces of time, coherent with the age of the work. The drawing is currently presented under glass with a mat and frame.

The photographs allow a precise appreciation of the technique, the dry stamp and the state of conservation and are an integral part of the description.