Ruins of an Ancient Aqueduct (Ruine d'un ancien aqueduc)
1874
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
1874
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Dominant colour
Ruins of an Ancient Aqueduct (Ruine d'un ancien aqueduc) is a 1874 ink by Alphonse Legros, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This print shows a dark, tangled forest with thick trees crowding around a crumbling stone archway. The arch looks old and half-buried, like ruins peeking through the undergrowth. Shadows fill most of the scene, with only a few patches of light breaking through the dense branches. The artist used fine lines to create texture, making the trees and rocks look rough and uneven. This kind of printmaking is called *etching*—where acid bites into metal plates to make the marks. Check out more about etching to see how this technique works.
