1874
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Roman Ruin (Ruine romaine) is a 1874 ink by Alphonse Legros, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This sketch shows a crumbling stone wall covered in thick, tangled vines. The lines are rough and busy, making the ruins look wild and overgrown. Light and shadow play across the uneven surface, giving it a gritty, textured feel. The artist used sharp, scratchy lines to build up dark areas—this is drypoint, a technique that lets ink fill tiny grooves. The result feels almost like carving into the paper itself. Next, check out technique: drypoint to see how artists use needles to create these deep, rich lines.
Alphonse Legros (French pronunciation: ; 8 May 1837 – 8 December 1911) was a French, later British, painter, etcher, sculptor, and medallist.
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