Artwork
Ex-Libris Edwin Edwards
Ex-Libris Edwin Edwards is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Alphonse Legros. It dates from 1874 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1874, *Ex-Libris Edwin Edwards* is a small-scale etching that functions as a personalized bookplate. The work was produced by Alphonse Legros, a French‑born artist who settled in London in the mid‑19th century and later took British citizenship. It exemplifies Legros’s involvement in the revival of British etching and his skill in rendering intricate designs within a compact format.
Subject & Meaning
The composition centers on a slender tower topped with a modest window, beneath which a shield bearing a portrait‑like face is surrounded by a wreath and foliage. To the right, a horse stands behind a tree with sharply pointed branches. The imagery combines heraldic elements with natural motifs, suggesting a personalized emblem for the collector Edwin Edwards rather than a narrative scene.
Technique & Style
Legros employed traditional intaglio methods, using fine, dense lines to build texture and tonal variation. The etching is rendered entirely in black, with the artist’s characteristic use of cross‑hatching to suggest surface detail on the tower, shield, and foliage. The precision of the line work demonstrates his mastery of the medium and his pedagogical emphasis on technical control.
History & Provenance
After its initial use, the plate entered private collections and later appeared in exhibitions highlighting Legros’s contribution to British printmaking.
The print was commissioned as a bookplate for the bibliophile Edwin Edwards, a common practice among 19th‑century collectors seeking a distinctive mark for their volumes. After its initial use, the plate entered private collections and later appeared in exhibitions highlighting Legros’s contribution to British printmaking. Its provenance traces back to Edwards’s personal library before moving through the art market.
Artist & collection
Artist
Alphonse Legros (French pronunciation: ; 8 May 1837 – 8 December 1911) was a French, later British, painter, etcher, sculptor, and medallist.
Mytton Hall
Two Beagles, One Sleeping
St. Jerome Reading in an Italian Landscape
Whistler's Tomb, Chiswick, London
The Dog on the Kennel
Landscape (Paysage)
Mytton Hall
In Province: The House at Orléans
La Ronde de nuit (Night Patrol)
Le Retour du Troupeau, Crèvecoeur
Hungry Dogs, Second Stone, second state
Ex-Libris pour "L'Ensorcelée" (Bookplate for "L'Ensorcelée")