Paul César Helleu Vannes 1859 - 1927 Paris "Study of 4 women" Etching on handmade paper Signed in pencil lower left Inscribed lower right with " Unique epreuve, \.\." rare proof image: 39 x 23,5 cm Frame: 56 x 44,5 cm Old art nouveau frame, acid-free mount, museum glass Authenticity is guaranteed in writing Paul César Helleu made an apprenticeship as a ceramist and took drawing lessons on the side. Against the will of his widowed mother, he went to Paris in 1876 to study at the École des Beaux-Arts, under the Salon realist Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904). Within a short time, he became acquainted with the city's well-known artists, including Henri Matisse, Edgar Degas, James Tissot, and Giovanni Boldini, and with the writer and art collector Robert de Montesquiou. He soon became close friends with John Singer Sargent, but his circle of acquaintances also included Auguste Rodin, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, [James McNeill Whistler, Oscar Wilde, Coco Chanel, Charlie Chaplin, and above all Marcel Proust]. Helleu established himself in the 1890s as a successful painter of the rich and beautiful of the Boulevard Saint-Germain. His wife, Alice Guérin (* 1874), was his muse and favorite model. This piece has an attribution mark, I am sure that it is completely authentic and take full responsibility for any authenticity issues arising from misattribution