Astonishing Things: The Drawings of Victor Hugo

Royal Academy of Arts

Location

Royal Academy of Arts
Burlington House
Piccadilly
Mayfair
London
W1J 0BD

Description

This exhibition has has not opened yet

This exhibition runs from Friday 21st March 2025 to Sunday 29th June 2025.


Discover the imaginary worlds of Victor Hugo, one of France’s most famous writers, at this exhibition of his rarely-seen works on paper.

Victor Hugo (1802–1885) was a leading public figure in 19th-century France. His books Les Miserables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame were printed worldwide. As both a poet and a politician, during his nearly twenty-year exile in the Channel Islands, he came to symbolise the ideals of the French republic: equality and freedom.

In private, his refuge was drawing. Hugo’s ink and wash visions of imaginary castles, monsters and seascapes are as poetic as his writing. His works inspired Romantic and Symbolist poets, and many artists including the Surrealists. Vincent van Gogh compared them to “astonishing things”.

This exhibition follows Hugo’s preoccupation with drawing, from his early caricatures and travel drawings to his dramatic landscapes and his experiments with abstraction. It features some of his finest works on paper, which are rarely on public display and were last seen in the UK over 50 years ago.

Prices

Standard Ticket: £17
Other price options
Under 16 : Free
Student / Concessions: £11
Art Fund: £14

Contact and Booking Details

More information at this website.

Reserve tickets at this website

Upcoming Dates

This exhibition runs from Friday 21st March 2025 to Sunday 29th June 2025.

Forthcoming dates:

Disclaimer

The information and prices in this listing are presumed to be correct at the time of publishing, but please always check with the venue before making a special trip.

All images are supplied by the exhibition organiser.

Royal Academy of Arts
Burlington House
Piccadilly
Mayfair
London
W1J 0BD

Map

This exhibition runs from Friday 21st March 2025 to Sunday 29th June 2025.

This event runs over several days/weeks. Dates include:

March 2025

April 2025

May 2025

June 2025