Meadow in Sunshine (Le pre ensoleille)
1874
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
1874
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Meadow in Sunshine (Le pre ensoleille) is a 1874 ink by Alphonse Legros, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This sketch shows a quiet meadow with tall, skinny trees standing in a row. The ground is patchy—some areas look dry, others damp, with a few tufts of grass. In the distance, a small bird sits on the grass, facing left. The lines are loose and scratchy, like they were drawn fast. The artist used a technique called drypoint, where they scratched directly into a metal plate to create the lines. This made the marks look rough and textured. Next, check out technique: etching, drypoint, aquatint to see how this kind of printmaking works.
