Seated Man and Woman

Nanteuil employed dense ink to create deep shadows, a technique influenced by his friend Victor Hugo. Highlights were achieved by scratching into the dark areas, leveraging a chiaroscuro effect to add depth and luminosity to the figures.

The drawing bears the influence of Victor Hugo, from whom Nanteuil learned the ink scratching technique. The reverse side's casual vignettes suggest a practical purpose, likely intended for book illustration accompaniments.

The piece reflects mid-19th-century artistic explorations of chiaroscuro, a technique emphasizing contrast between light and dark to create three-dimensional effects, a method also explored by other contemporary artists.