Astonishing Things: The Drawings of Victor Hugo
21 March - 29 June 2025
The Jillian and Arthur M. Sackler Wing of Galleries | Burlington House
Friends of the RA go free
Discover the imaginary worlds of Victor Hugo, one of France’s most famous writers, at this exhibition of his rarely-seen works on paper.
Victor Hugo (1802–1885) was a leading public figure in 19th-century France. His books Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame were printed worldwide. As both a poet and a politician, during his nearly twenty-year exile in the Channel Islands, he came to symbolise the ideals of the French republic: equality and freedom.
In private, his refuge was drawing. Hugo’s ink and wash visions of imaginary castles, monsters and seascapes are as poetic as his writing. His works inspired Romantic and Symbolist poets, and many artists including the Surrealists. Vincent van Gogh compared them to “astonishing things”.
This exhibition follows Hugo’s preoccupation with drawing, from his early caricatures and travel drawings to his dramatic landscapes and his experiments with abstraction. It features some of his finest works on paper, which are rarely on public display and were last seen in the UK over 50 years ago.
Exhibition organised by the Royal Academy of Arts in collaboration with Paris Musées – Maison de Victor Hugo and the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
Download our large print guide.
Reviews
“What an artist. What a soul.”
The Guardian
“uncompromising and uninhibited enjoyment”
The Independent
“a fascinating glimpse into a multifaceted creative mind”
The Times
“invigorating”
The Telegraph
Supporters
Supported by
With additional support from
With additional support from
Colin McCorquodale
The Dr. Lee MacCormick Edwards Charitable Foundation
In collaboration with
Gallery
The cheerful castle, c. 1847
Mushroom, 1850
Octopus, 1866–69
The Town and Castle of Vianden by Moonlight, 1871
The Town of Vianden Seen Through a Spider’s Web, 1871
Mirror with Birds, 1870
Start here: Victor Hugo's drawings
Find out more about the extraordinary artistic career of French writer and statesman Victor Hugo.
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