Two Studies of Madame Lemmen

Executed with soft charcoal on a light‑colored wove paper, the drawing employs loose, gestural lines characteristic of Lemmen’s early practice. The emphasis lies on tonal modulation rather than fine detail, reflecting the artist’s interest in how shadows define form—a concern that aligns with the broader neo‑impressionist attention to light and color division.

Lemmen produced these studies at the age of twenty, the same year he became associated with a circle of artists devoted to depicting everyday scenes and the effects of light. The drawings remain a testament to his formative period, documenting his transition toward the neo‑impressionist ideals that would shape his later oeuvre.