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PAUL CESAR HELLEU (Vannes 1859 - Paris 1927) PORTRAIT OF A WOMAN WEARING A HAT WITH A GIANT PEARL
Red chalk, 423 x 300 mm.
The drawing has been authenticated by Frédérique de Watrigant, president of 'Les Amis de Paul-César Helleu', Paris.
The portrait has been drawn on the verso of a lithograph by Emily Eden (partly trimmed) from her 'Portraits of the Princes and People of India' (1844). It 's interesting to note that the great black pearl of the Maharaja's treasure appears in the same dimensions as the white pearl on the hat of the lady portrayed by Helleu. The lithograph on the verso of this drawing shows one of the favorite horses of Maharaja Ranjit Singh with the head officer of his stables, and also shows the finest jewels of Singh's treasure, including the 'Kohinoor' diamond, used to adorn the horse on special occasions.
We suggest here some possible links between Emily Eden (who died when Helleu was very young) and Helleu. Possibly the clue is the friendship between Helleu and John Singer Sargent. Helleu was often a guest of Sargent in England and both Emily Eden's daughter and nephew have been portrayed by Sargent. It is in fact conceivable that the Emily Eden litho, arrived in Helleu hands via Sargent as part of paper material to be used for sketches and studies given by the Edens. It is still to be verify if there were direct contacts and works portraying the young lady Elfrida Marjiorie Eden, and her mother lady Sybil, as well as their possible resemblances with our portrait.

A painter and an engraver Helleu was a master interpreter of feminine elegance and grace at the turn of the century. He studied art at the Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris under Gerome and became friends with some of the leading artists of the day, including Tissot, Whistler, Monet, Sargent, Rodin. By 1885, Helleu had produced his first drypoint engravings and lithographs. His worldly effigies, female silhouettes, and sportive scenes of the elegant class, are among the most precise images of the 'belle époque'.