This distinguished collection brings together a lifetime of drawings by Alexandre-Louis Leloir, distilling the imagination, discipline, and intimacy of one of the 19th century’s most refined history and genre painters.
Across the group appears the full breadth of Leloir’s hand: casual doodles, compositional sketches, rigorous figure studies, and painterly inventions, alongside designs for some of his most celebrated works, including Jacob Wrestling with the Angel (Salon of 1865). Interwoven are lyrical fantasies and tender portraits of family members—Leloir having been born into a dynasty of painters and illustrators, with his grandfather Alexandre-Marie Colin, his father Auguste, his mother Héloïse Colin, his aunt Anaïs Toudouze (née Adèle-Anaïs Colin), his brother Maurice, and his cousins Isabelle Toudouze and Édouard Toudouze (both painters/illustrators), along with Gustave Toudouze (a novelist), all distinguished figures in the arts, offering a privileged glimpse into the shared creative language of the Leloir household and its extended circle.
A pupil of Colin before entering the École des Beaux-Arts, Leloir showed precocious talent, winning the Second Prix de Rome in 1861 and again in 1864. Though celebrated early for his ambitious biblical and historical canvases, he increasingly devoted himself to genre painting, drawing inspiration from medieval and 17th-century interiors, Dutch models, and Orientalist themes. His works were regularly exhibited at the Paris Salon, earning him medals and, in 1876, the title of Chevalier of the Legion of Honour. He was also among the founders of the Société des Aquarellistes Français in 1879.
Never before seen, this collection offers not only an intimate record of Leloir’s creative process but also a vivid portrayal of an extraordinary artistic dynasty, preserved here in drawings of striking immediacy and humanity.
Born into the remarkably prolific Colin family of Paris, Héloïse Suzanne Colin Leloir and Adèle-Anaïs Colin Toudouze were two of the most accomplished female artists working in 19th century France. Daughters of the painter-lithographer Alexandre-Marie Colin and Marie-Joseph Juhel, they grew up in a milieu shaped by close ties to leading figures of the Romantic movement, including Delacroix, Géricault, and Gavarni. Both artists developed a refined command of drawing, watercolour, and miniature painting, having been trained in their father’s studio alongside their sisters Laure and Isabelle, and later their own children. They soon became celebrated pioneers of the illustrated fashion plate.
Héloïse and Adèle-Anaïs often collaborated, contributing to the flourishing market for fashion illustration that helped define the visual culture of the Second Empire and early Third Republic. Their work for prestigious journals, including La Mode Illustrée, Le Follet, Le Conseiller des Dames et des Demoiselles, and several British publications, combined precision of line with elegant colour harmonies and a keen sensitivity to contemporary dress.
Though the conventions of the genre favoured formally posed figures to display garments clearly, their plates introduced subtle narrative charm, situating their models in delicately staged domestic interiors or refined outdoor settings. Together, they helped establish the look of Parisian fashion for audiences across Europe. Each sister, however, pursued a distinct artistic path within this shared specialisation. Héloïse, who debuted at the Paris Salon in 1835, was admired for he miniature portraits and watercolours. After her marriage to the painter Auguste Leloir in 1842, she extended her practice into book illustration, producing deft visual interpretations of popular novels such as The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo. Her elegant draughtsmanship made her a sought-after illustrator, and examples of her work are now held in the Rijksmuseum and the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Together, Héloïse and Adèle-Anaïs helped shape the visual record of 19th century European fashion while contributing to one of the century’s most remarkable artistic dynasties. Through their prolific output and refined visual language was carried forward by the next generation, including Héloïse’s sons Maurice and Alexandre-Louis Leloir and Adèle-Anaïs’s daughter Isabelle Toudouze.
