Technical information
- Title : Man with a Beard
- Date : c. 1924
- Technique : Charcoal
- Dimensions : 48 × 31 cm
- Location : Unknown
Biographical / historical context
In the mid‑1920s, Breuillaud intensified his drawing practice and produced numerous study portraits. These charcoal works allowed him to strengthen modelling, his understanding of volumes and the presence of the face, in a realist vein attentive to temperament. The handwritten note “Rennes” links the work to a period of travel or a studio context, though the circumstances cannot, at this stage, be specified.
Formal / stylistic description
The sitter is shown in three‑quarter view, arms crossed, in a closed posture that concentrates the portrait’s energy. The powerfully built face is constructed through deep shadows and blended passages: marked forehead and brow, strong nose, dense mouth, with beard and hair forming a dark mass that balances the composition. The charcoal is handled across a wide range of values, from velvety blacks to areas left light, with a few more incisive strokes to secure the gaze and contours. The near‑bare background heightens the bust’s monumentality and brings forward a grave presence, without any decorative effect.
Comparative analysis / related works
This portrait differs from the early 1920s urban views by its concentrated, introspective character. It belongs to a group of male portraits from the same period, in which Breuillaud favours economy of means and the force of modelling over any description of place. The taste for contrast and the firmness of volumes foreshadow—at a distance—his enduring attention to the internal structure of forms.
Justification of dating
The dating to c. 1924 rests on the technical maturity of the charcoal, situated between the more academic exercises of the early 1920s and later drawings that become freer. The “Rennes” note and the general manner are consistent with this range, without any conclusive element allowing a narrower dating.
Provenance / exhibitions / publications
No known data.