19th Century Ink Drawing of a Pipe Smoker by Nicolas Toussaint Charlet

A Beautiful Brown Ink Study of a Military Man, smoking a pipe by Nicolas Toussaint Charlet.

Nicolas Toussaint Charlet was born and raised in Paris.
The son of a grenadier in the revolutionary army, he came from a poor family.
He lost his father at the age of 6 and was entrusted to the Children of the Fatherland for his education.

In 1817, having from a very early age had a propensity for drawing, he joined Antoine-Jean Gros’s (le Baron Gros) studio, where his lithographs, drawings and watercolors met with great success, enabling him to make a name for himself.
Charlet favored mainly military subjects and scenes of popular life, producing wonderful drawings and paintings of Military subjects.

Charlet was an uncommonly tall man, with an expressive face, bantering and good natured. His character was full of boyish fun and high spirits, with manly independence and a vein of religious feeling.
Géricault greatly appreciated Charlet’s work, and the two artists struck up a sincere friendship, which led them to set off together on a trip to England.
In 1838, Nicolas Toussaint Charlet was appointed professor of drawing at the Ecole Polytechnique.

Charlet left a considerable number of drawings and lithographs of Napoleon’s campaigns, contributing to the documentation of the Napoleonic legend.
He passed away in Paris in 1845.

His works are represented in many French museums and abroad, including:
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The National Gallery
Art institute of Chicago
The Walter’s Art Museum.
The National Gallery of London
The national Gallery of Ottawa

The Frame Measures 13″ x 10″
The Drawing Measures 7″ x 5″

France 19th Century c.Reference number: R-416