1874
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Sleeping Beggar (Mendiant endormi) is a 1874 ink by Alphonse Legros, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This sketch shows two people lying down together, wrapped in blankets. One has their head resting on the other’s shoulder, while the second person’s arm is draped around them. The lines are loose and quick, capturing the folds of the fabric and the relaxed shapes of their bodies. The artist used a mix of shading and cross-hatching to show texture, especially in the blankets and hair. This style was common in etchings of the time, where ink and lines create depth without color. Look up etching, drypoint, aquatint to see how artists like this made prints.
Alphonse Legros (French pronunciation: ; 8 May 1837 – 8 December 1911) was a French, later British, painter, etcher, sculptor, and medallist.
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