Astonishing Things: The Drawings of Victor Hugo

Starting March 21, the Royal Academy presents an exhibition of drawings by one of France’s most acclaimed writers, Victor Hugo — a rare opportunity to explore a lesser-known aspect of this great creator’s talent. Beyond his literary legacy, Hugo crafted a remarkable collection of drawings in which reality intertwines with fantasy, and shadows come alive on paper. His works, rich in drama and symbolism, astonish with their bold experimentation in form and technique. The Royal Academy of Arts invites visitors to uncover the hidden corners of the master’s imagination, where words transform into lines and emotions take on tangible form. Afisha.London visited the exhibition and is eager to share insights into the imaginative realms of this great writer.

Victor Hugo was an extraordinary public figure in 19th-century France, the French equivalent of Shakespeare and Dickens. His works are celebrated masterpieces and are published worldwide. As a poet and politician, during his nearly two-decade exile on the Channel Islands, he became a symbol of the ideals of the French Republic: equality and freedom. However, not everyone realises that this multifaceted genius was also one of the greatest artists of his time.

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Drawing was an integral part of Victor Hugo’s education, but it wasn’t until the early 1830s that he began creating caricatures. He regularly filled his travel journals with pencil sketches to capture various locations and architectural details. Upon arriving at each site, he would replicate those sketches in ink to send to his children. From that moment on, the view of castles along the mountainous riverbanks became a continuous source of inspiration for his art.

Around 1847, Victor Hugo reached the pinnacle of his artistic mastery, developing his technique of blending pencil with charcoal and watercolour ink. While absorbed in politics and writing little during this period, he allowed his creative impulse to flow freely in a series of large-scale drawings characterised by unrestrained imagination and profound expressiveness. The artist increasingly experimented with techniques to amplify the drama of his drawings. He also used inkblots as a starting point for his imagination, which later inspired the Surrealists.

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The years of exile became a time of intense artistic creativity for Hugo: his fantastic drawings were infused with his experiences of spiritualist séances on Jersey, while numerous seascapes shimmered with light. His struggle against the death penalty was mirrored in several masterpieces. One drawing in the exhibition is a haunting portrait of a hanged corpse, part of Hugo’s doomed campaign to save a convicted murderer.

It is difficult to argue that Hugo’s ink and watercolour visions are as poetic as his writing. His drawings have inspired many poets and artists. Vincent van Gogh called them astonishing, and we cannot help but agree.

The exhibition will run from March 21 to June 29 at the Royal Academy of Arts.

Cover photo: Afisha.London

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