London exhibit spotlights Victor Hugo's lesser-known talent, drawing

Discover Victor Hugo's lesser-known talent as an illustrator in London's new exhibition showcasing his poetic ink and wash drawings.

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 (March 21, 2025), 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.