Young Woman with a Vase of Flowers

This delicate black crayon drawing from 1909 captures a young woman in an intimate moment with flowers—a subject that would resonate throughout Théo Tobiasse's later career, though this remarkably early work presents a chronological puzzle. Given that Tobiasse was born in 1927, he would have been negative 18 years old in 1909, making this attribution highly unlikely. This appears to be either a mislabeling or possibly the work of another artist. The drawing itself demonstrates accomplished technique in black crayon on ivory wove paper, with careful attention to the figure and floral arrangement. The medium—crayon on paper—aligns with drawing practices of the early 20th century, and the intimate scale (about 12 by 16 inches) suggests it may have been a preparatory study or independent work exploring themes of femininity and nature. If this were indeed by Tobiasse, it would predate his known artistic career by decades; he began exhibiting paintings only in 1960 at the Salon des Peintres du Sud-Est. The subject of a young woman with flowers would later appear in his mature work as part of his exploration of feminine beauty, though his developed style incorporated vibrant colors, Jewish themes, memory, and complex personal iconography drawn from his experiences of exile and the Holocaust.