1874
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Poet (Le poete) is a 1874 ink by Alphonse Legros, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This image shows a shadowy face turned slightly away, with long hair and a beard. The lighting is dim, leaving most of the background dark and focusing only on the person’s profile. The edges of the print are rough, and the tones are mostly brown and black. The artist used a method called *aquatint* to create smooth shading, which gives the face a soft, almost ghostly look. This technique was popular in the 1800s for adding depth to prints. Next, check out etching, drypoint, aquatint to see how artists like Legros made detailed prints.
Alphonse Legros (French pronunciation: ; 8 May 1837 – 8 December 1911) was a French, later British, painter, etcher, sculptor, and medallist.
See the richer artist page
