Le Mendicant, or the beggar, was executed in 1943, while Dalí was living in the US. The influence of his travels in Italy during the late Thirties can be seen here; Dalí had studied the great Masters, and in this drawing his emulation of their use of structure and harmonious form is discernable.
    Le Mendicant is a pen and ink study on cartridge paper. On the left, the foreground is minutely detailed with no paper left showing at all. The features of the man and child (another version of the father and son that Dalí was so often to include in the background of his paintings) are clear, the viewer can see the man's hooked nose and bloody sleeves as he reaches out for aid.
    The rest of the drawing is more insubstantial. This difference in style means that the foreground figures act as a frame for the drawing and, with their arms outstretched, bring the viewer's attention to the central figures of the two struggling men and the rearing horse. Dalí had been creating this image of the man and horse for some time; it can also be seen in the drawing Messenger in a Palladian Landscape (1936).