Adrien Étienne aka Drian - Etching - Lady in a Hat Taking Tea at a Café circa 1910 AP1765

The image measures 3 1/2" x 5 1/2" on a sheet of paper 9" x 12 1/2". Signed.

It's a wonderful study, on the one hand extremely stylish and on the other a true psychological portrait.

Born Adrien Desiré Étienne, into a peasant family in Lorraine, he showed talent at an early age. When he went to Paris to study at the Académie Julian, he took the pseudonym Drian - his own first name, as his contemporaries heard it in his slurred Lorrain accent.  He is often listed as Adrien Drian or Étienne Drian. Designer and decorator, Drian lived in Paris in the late nineteenth century . His women are represented as dressed in the fashion of 1900 dolls. His thick line evokes the gauzy fabrics and delicate folds of clothing. The elegance of women, and their views en dessous circumvented poses are reminiscent of Helleu style.