The Drawings of Victor Hugo at The Royal Academy

"These things people insist on calling my drawings... made in the margins or on the covers of manuscripts during hours of almost unconscious reverie with what remained of the ink in my pen." Victor Hugo, 1863.

The Royal Academy of Arts' latest exhibition, running until June 29th, offers a rare glimpse into Victor Hugo’s lesser-known artistic pursuit—drawing. The exhibition showcases around 70 works from Hugo’s collection of over 4,000 drawings. The works’ materials are as diverse as their motifs, from ink and charcoal to lace imprints and wood shavings, depicting everything from coastal lines to octopuses and mushrooms. No matter the subject, nearly all pieces have a signature muted psychedelic-washed brown look.

Best known for literary masterpieces such as Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Victor Hugo (1802-1885) lived many lives in his time. A royalist, a politician, author, playwright, poet, novelist and artist.

The exhibition of his works on paper, which takes its name from Van Gogh’s description of his drawings, ‘astonishing things,’ showcases the organised brilliance of this life well-lived. These works, which started as caricatures in his late 20s, were private to Hugo, with many created during his 29-year exile in Guernsey. His art inspired a generation of romantic, symbolist, and surrealist artists and poets.

The exhibition, arranged thematically into four sections, makes you feel as strange as the drawings themselves—a unique combination of unease and enchantment.

It opens with Writing and Drawing, which explores the connection between Hugo’s literary and artistic work. While his writing was public, drawing remained private. Both mediums expressed his views on nature, time, and history. In this section, you’ll find Mushroom (1850), a depiction of a giant mushroom amid a murky brown wash.

Observation and Imagination explores Hugo’s creative process, from detailed landscapes to abstract forms. Works in this section include Lace and Spectres (c. 1855-56) and reflect his interest in spiritualism and the unconscious.

Fantasy and Reality explores Hugo’s fascination with castles drawn from memory, observation, and imagination. He used stencils for tonal contrast from The Cheerful Castle (c. 1847) to The Town of Vianden (1871). The section includes printmaking, such as The Castle with the Cross (1850), showcasing his work in print.

The final section, The Ocean, showcases photographs of Hugo by his sons on Jersey’s beaches, in addition to other marine-inspired works such as Octopus (1864–66). Many of these works were created while writing his novel, The Toilers of the Sea (1866).

Immersing yourself in Hugo’s drawings is to enter a world which blends the eerie with the whimsical. Fully engaging with the space and each drawing means venturing beyond the familiar and pushing the boundaries of perception itself.

Astonishing Things: The Drawings of Victor Hugo is exhibited at The Royal Academy of Arts from 21 March – 29 June 2025

Tickets start at £17 and are free for friends of the RA. Purchase your tickets here.