Élisa MERCŒUR. Drawings on the back of an autograph manuscript; folio 31.2 x 19.8 cm. Studies for a self-portrait; drawings in graphite, retouched in pen. This sheet was presented in the exhibition Dessins d'écrivains français du XIXe siècle (Maison de Balzac, 1983-1984, no. 106); we quote Laurence Bardury's note: "Unequal in terms of completion, these five drawings present similar physiognomies, notably for the four three-quarter portraits, and the most finished of them features a young woman with 1830s hairstyle. Drawn in pencil, then reworked in ink, these drawings are characterized by a very pure line, and in this respect belong to the Romantic school of drawing". They are traced on the back of an autograph page of chapter II of his book Louis XI et le Bénédictin: "by the effect of the tan, and this color, borrowed from the sun, completed giving to his physiognomy the severity appropriate to the bold drawing of his features [...] A fiery horse, bit in the teeth, saddle empty and bridle floating, swift as lightning, had passed by them and caused fright".