a) C'etait notre maison (recto); b) Refugees in a Landscape (verso)

Forain applied quick, gestural lines in black crayon and ink to suggest motion and atmosphere rather than detail. Watercolor washes in muted browns, grays, and faint blue establish tonal depth without saturation. The use of opaque white highlights adds subtle contrast, enhancing the sense of fleeting light or movement. His method prioritizes immediacy, aligning with Impressionist principles while retaining a raw, documentary quality suited to the era’s upheavals.

Created during World War I, these drawings emerged from a period when Forain was actively documenting civilian life amid conflict. They remained in his personal collection until after his death, later entering institutional holdings. Unlike his more polished lithographs and paintings, these works were likely private studies, never intended for public exhibition, which contributes to their understated presence in his broader oeuvre.

In 1916, France was deeply engaged in the First World War, and civilian displacement was widespread. Forain, though not a frontline artist, responded to the social tremors of the time through intimate sketches. His focus on ordinary people in transit reflects a broader artistic interest in the human cost of war, paralleling contemporaneous work by other French illustrators and draftsmen who turned from satire to somber observation.

While Forain was more celebrated in his lifetime for his satirical prints and portraits, these drawings reveal a quieter, more empathetic side of his practice. Their modest scale and unfinished quality have kept them outside mainstream narratives of Impressionism, yet they offer valuable insight into how artists recorded the war’s domestic impact. Today, they are studied for their emotional restraint and technical economy.