Landscape with a Castle

This sheet depicts a landscape with a castle perched on a rocky outcropping that is rich in its layered technique and ambiguous in its meaning. Made on the British Channel Island of Guernsey, as inscribed on the lower right of the sheet, the drawing was executed during the artist’s exile from France. Hugo used charcoal to create a smoky black atmosphere, pen and ink and wash to define the castle’s outlines, white gouache to accentuate the highlights, and a stencil to make the church and the other silhouetted buildings. As was typical for the drawings he made in exile, Hugo submerged himself in the study of the natural and supernatural to create a fantastical scene with dramatic chiaroscuro effects. The dark sky that washes over the scene creates a haunting image that exemplifies Hugo’s Romantic poetic vision.