1874
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Sleeping Scholar (Le savant endormi) is a 1874 ink by Alphonse Legros, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This sketch shows a scholar asleep at a cluttered desk, surrounded by books and papers. The artist used quick, loose lines to draw the scene, making everything look slightly fuzzy. Light falls on the person’s face and the desk, while the background stays dark. The sketch feels alive with energy, even though it’s just lines on paper. The artist used a technique called *drypoint*, where they scratched into a metal plate to create texture. Look up technique: drypoint next to see how it works.
Alphonse Legros (French pronunciation: ; 8 May 1837 – 8 December 1911) was a French, later British, painter, etcher, sculptor, and medallist.
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