London Exhibit Spotlights Victor Hugo's Lesser-known Talent -- Drawing

A drawing by French author Victor Hugo, entitled "Mushroom" (L) is pictured during a photocall at the Royal Academy of Arts (RA) in London on March 18, 2025. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)
A drawing by French author Victor Hugo, entitled "Mushroom" (L) is pictured during a photocall at the Royal Academy of Arts (RA) in London on March 18, 2025. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)
TT

London Exhibit Spotlights Victor Hugo's Lesser-known Talent -- Drawing

A drawing by French author Victor Hugo, entitled "Mushroom" (L) is pictured during a photocall at the Royal Academy of Arts (RA) in London on March 18, 2025. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)
A drawing by French author Victor Hugo, entitled "Mushroom" (L) is pictured during a photocall at the Royal Academy of Arts (RA) in London on March 18, 2025. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)

French writer Victor Hugo is famous for penning "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame" and "Les Miserables", but less known is his work as an illustrator -- now the subject of a new exhibition in London.

"Astonishing Things: The Drawings of Victor Hugo", which opened at the Royal Academy of Arts on Friday, traces Hugo's passion for illustration, 140 years after his death.

The exhibition's notes say that while the Romantic author and politician came to be a leading public figure in France in the 19th century, "in private, his refuge was drawing".

"Hugo's ink and wash visions of imaginary castles, monsters and seascapes are as poetic as his writing," according to the Royal Academy of Arts.

"His works inspired Romantic and Symbolist poets, and many artists including the Surrealists. Vincent van Gogh compared them to 'astonishing things'."

For a long time, Hugo showed his drawings only to close friends, even though he ensured their posterity by donating them to France's national library.

The works, many made of ink washes, graphite pencil and charcoal, are "rarely on public display and were last seen in the UK over 50 years ago," the academy added.

The exhibition of about 70 drawings seeks to address the relationship between Hugo's artistic and literary work, AFP reported.

Most were made between 1850 and 1870, the period he was exiled to the island of Guernsey following a coup d'état in December 1851 by Napoleon III.

It was while in exile that Hugo completed some of his major works, including "Les Chatiments" (The Castigations) and "Les Miserables".

The exhibition tracks his progress from early caricatures and travel drawings to dramatic landscapes and his experiments with abstraction.

While his writings were deeply rooted in reality and tackled subjects such as social deprivation and the death penalty, certain drawings are more enigmatic, like "Mushroom" which depicts a giant anthropomorphic toadstool.

However the influence of his political beliefs can be seen in "Ecce Lex" (Behold the law), which shows a hanged man.

The London exhibition is scheduled to run until 29 June.



Heritage Commission Reveals Oldest Known Use of Harmal Plant in Human History

Heritage Commission Reveals Oldest Known Use of Harmal Plant in Human History
TT

Heritage Commission Reveals Oldest Known Use of Harmal Plant in Human History

Heritage Commission Reveals Oldest Known Use of Harmal Plant in Human History

A landmark scientific study published in the international "Communications Biology" journal revealed the earliest known use of the harmal plant (Peganum harmala), dating back around 2,700 years to the Iron Age, based on archaeological findings from the ancient settlement of Qurayyah in Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk Region, according to a Saudi Heritage Commission press release, SPA reported.
Conducted as part of a joint research effort by the Saudi Heritage Commission, the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, and the University of Vienna in Austria, the study explores the therapeutic and social dimensions of ancient practices in the Arabian Peninsula, underscoring the Kingdom’s commitment to advancing scientific understanding of its cultural heritage.
Using high-performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), researchers performed advanced chemical analyses on organic residues preserved inside pottery incense burners. These analyses detected alkaloids from the harmal plant, providing physical evidence of its use in fumigation rituals for therapeutic purposes.
The harmal plant, also known locally as rue, is recognized for its antibacterial and healing properties. Its documented use at Qurayyah not only reflects early medicinal knowledge but also highlights the continuity of traditional practices in the region.
This discovery further underscores the longstanding cultural and therapeutic traditions of the Arabian Peninsula and demonstrates the Saudi Heritage Commission’s ongoing commitment to international research collaboration.
This research aligns with the broader goals of the Saudi Ministry of Culture to support pioneering initiatives that contribute to the global understanding of human history and to reframe the cultural legacy of the Arabian Peninsula through a modern scientific lens.