Portrait Of Charles Maurras In 1909

Early 20th-century French School
Portrait of Charles Maurras (1868–1952)
Charcoal
H. 37.5 cm; W. 27 cm
Signed and dated lower left
Probably (19)09

It would serve little purpose to attempt, in just a few lines, to describe the true personality and ideas of Charles Maurras, which were often contradictory and prone to controversy. Suffice it to say that this man, whose very name evokes Action Française and ultra-nationalism, was an intellectual, writer, critic, journalist, and ideologue who played an important role within the right and the far right in France during the Third Republic.

This beautiful, almost photographic portrait, whose signature has not been deciphered, depicts him while still young, at just over 40 years of age. A native of Martigues near Marseille, he had published the first issue of the daily newspaper *Action Française* the previous year, in 1908.