1884
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Evening at the Window is a 1884 by Alphonse Legros, a Impressionism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
A man leans on a windowsill, staring out at the darkening sky. The room behind him is barely there—just a few quick lines for furniture. Legros drew right on the copper plate, scratching out mistakes as he went. Those scribbled edges at the top and bottom weren’t planned; he added them later to crop the scene and pull your eye to the man’s face. The etching feels like a quick, private moment caught on paper. To see more works like this, look up the technique called *impasto*.
This etching is one of more than 600 that Alphonse Legros created throughout his career. He favored this technique, which allowed artists to sketch on a copper plate as if drawing on paper, for its spontaneity. Legros often worked directly on the plate, crossing off portions to be trimmed away as he went. In this image of a man staring through an open window, Legros scribbled along the upper and lower margins to give the composition a more specific focus.
Alphonse Legros taught for nearly two decades as a professor of fine arts at the Slade School in London and was the first to add etching to its curriculum.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Alphonse Legros (French pronunciation: ; 8 May 1837 – 8 December 1911) was a French, later British, painter, etcher, sculptor, and medallist.
See the richer artist pageYour cart is empty
Explore artworks →
