Eugène Courboin (1851-1922) - The Song Of The Gueux, Noctambules - 1881

Eugène Courboin (1851-1922)
The Song of Beggars, Noctambulists - 1881
drawing with pen, watercolor and gouache
44.5 x 30 cm at sight (total dimensions of the leaf)
Signed lower left
Annotated on the assembly of the hand

This drawing was created by Eugène Courboin for the illustrated edition of Jean Richepin's Song of Gueux, published in Paris by Maurice Dreyfous editions, in 1881 (according to the dictionary of illustrators, 1800-1914), then in 1883. Eugene Courboin worked on a series of engravings, seven in number, illustrating the collection of poems. This unpublished drawing is preparatory to one of the seven engravings of the book and illustrates the poem Noctambules, placed in the subpart "Nos Gloires" of the chapter "We other beggars". An inscription, at the bottom right of the drawing, repeats the following verses of the poem: "They sail, the good night owls, And under the sky talk between them. "