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Paul-Cesar Helleu was a French artist, originally trained in ceramics. Born in Vannes, he moved to Paris at the age of 17 where he studied academic painting under Gerome. He would also study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts under Theodore Deck.

Helleu quickly became known for his sketches and portraits of beautiful French women during the Belle Epoque era. The majority of Helleu’s oeuvre is in fact filled with sketches and studies of fashionable women of the day. Though there is no official catalogue of every sketch or portrait, it has been suggested that Helleu created literally hundreds of portraits.

In particular, Helleu was fond of sketching women in elegant hats. He would employ the dry point method of sketching, as opposed to charcoal or pencil. It was said that he used a diamond point pen to improve his etchings and drawings. To add color, Helleu would also employ pastels and crayon pencils.

Helleu’s favorite model by far was his wife, Alice Guerin, and later Madame Helleu, whom he met when and began sketching when she was only 14. Later, their eldest daughter Ellen would also become a favorite model of his. Both Helleu and his wife became high society figures, and their graceful and elegant lifestyle was echoed in his compositions.

Fellow painter John Singer Sargent became a great friend and mentor to Helleu. He was a well-liked figure in society and was constantly in demand to create portraits of the Parisian elite. Few other artists of his time were able to capture the realistic beauty of the elegant and fashionable women of his time.

The possibility of owning a sketch of a beautiful society woman by Helleu is great, due to the fact that he was a truly prolific artist. Helleu also created still life and portrait paintings in his same graceful style, though these are fewer and far between. Besides his talents as a portrait painter, Helleu also created the astrological scene on the ceiling of New York City’s Grand Central Station in 1912.