Au soleil (1955):
The Poetic Eroticism of Youth in Raymond Carrance’s Pencil Drawing
Titled Au soleil (In the Sun), this captivating pencil drawing by Raymond Carrance, created in 1955, is a masterclass in line, light, and emotion. Measuring 65 × 55 cm, the composition captures a timeless summer moment, infused with both innocence and sensuality. Executed in graphite on paper, the work is in excellent condition and presents two adolescent male figures—one standing in the foreground, the other sitting with his back turned—set against a stylized seascape and minimalist architecture.
The boy in the foreground leans casually on a geometric structure, his weight resting on one leg. His nearly nude body, dressed only in briefs, is drawn with exquisite anatomical care. Shadows define the curves of his torso and limbs with classical subtlety. His gaze looks off to the right, calm and thoughtful, while the precision of his posture evokes both natural grace and quiet tension.
Behind him, another figure sits, leaning forward with elbows on knees and hands clasped, suggesting introspection or perhaps quiet conversation. Their juxtaposition—foreground and background, turned toward and away—creates a narrative tension. The discarded sandals at the boys’ feet, the sea in the distance, and the reflected silhouette on the ground all contribute to a charged but understated atmosphere.
Carrance’s control of the pencil is remarkable. He uses delicate shading and confident lines to model flesh, space, and architectural depth. The drawing is sensual but not overt. Like many of his best works, it walks the line between eroticism and lyricism, offering a vision of sun-drenched youth frozen in time.
Cultural Context and Provenance
Au soleil emerges from a mid-20th-century European tradition of homoerotic art, in which the male adolescent body was often idealized as a symbol of beauty, longing, and introspection. Unlike the more provocative or coded works of underground artists in the same period, Carrance’s drawings possess a poetic restraint. His figures rarely confront the viewer directly; instead, they exist in quiet reverie, caught in private moments that feel both intimate and universal.
This particular work, signed and dated, comes from a private European collection, and represents a refined example of Carrance’s unique voice: neither academic nor commercial, but deeply personal and sincere. While the era demanded discretion in the representation of same-sex desire, Carrance’s style found a middle ground—evoking emotion, desire, and identity through stillness and suggestion.
The setting of the scene, with its crisp edges and modernist forms, echoes Mediterranean environments—perhaps the south of France or Italy. Yet the location is abstract enough to remain dreamlike, inviting projection and memory. In this way, Au soleil transcends time and geography, becoming a portrait of youth in a metaphysical space of warmth, reflection, and desire.
Raymond Carrance
Raymond Carrance was a French artist best known for his pencil and ink drawings that explored themes of male adolescence, beauty, and homoerotic longing. Born in 1921, Carrance worked quietly and often outside of the public art world, developing a body of work that, although not widely known during his lifetime, has since gained attention for its emotional honesty and technical mastery.
Carrance’s preferred medium was drawing, where he demonstrated remarkable precision and restraint. His works are often characterized by contemplative young figures placed in serene, architectural, or natural settings. His ability to suggest mood and desire through pose and composition—rather than explicit gesture—sets him apart from many of his contemporaries. He was influenced by classical sculpture, Mediterranean light, and the aesthetic ideals of purity and emotional introspection.
In recent decades, Carrance’s drawings have been rediscovered and revalued within the context of queer art history. Exhibitions and private collections have begun to acknowledge his role in shaping a uniquely European form of homoerotic figuration—subtle, melancholic, and profoundly lyrical.
Au soleil exemplifies his approach: a balance of realism and idealism, sensuality and stillness. It is a quietly radical work that speaks of youth, desire, and the human form in its most vulnerable and poetic state.
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