Louis Carrier-belleuse 1848-1913 -large Charcoal 1884 - The Bitumen Worker

Large and magnificent charcoal drawing, dated 1884, which represents a worker at work who is certainly "a bitumier" because he is scraping the tar into a bucket... The work is signed by the sculptor & painter Louis Carrier-Belleuse (1848-1913) to whom the Bénézit devotes an important chapter and whose biography can be read on the Wikipedia site: coming from a family of renowned artists, well known to collectors, he is notably the brother of the pastellist Pierre Carrier-Belleuse and the son of the famous sculptor Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse (1824-1887). Values & auctions: the value of his drawings varies from a few hundred to several thousand euros, depending on their theme and their quality: his record of more than 12,600 euros was announced in 1999 at Christie's for a large pastel. This exceeded his previous record (1993) at more than 8000 euros for another pastel at Christie's also: in 2022 a charcoal drawing representing a couple was sold for 1500 euros, which was his best result for a charcoal, since in 2002 a charcoal representing two chimney sweep children was sold for 1000 euros (Tajan-Drouot) / Source Art-Price. - see on the Wikipedia site the list of the many museums which preserve his works - Drawing size (at sight): 59 cm x 39.5 cm Frame: 85 cm x 64 cm - provide a window for better protection of the charcoal / ask me for other photos if necessary -