1874
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
The Prodigal Son, 4th plate (L'enfant prodigue) is a 1874 ink by Alphonse Legros, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This sketch shows a lone tree with twisted branches and bare roots. The ground around it is rough and uneven, like cracked earth. The lines are dark and scratchy, giving the whole scene a rough, almost restless feel. The artist used a method called drypoint to create these deep, textured lines. It’s like they pressed hard into the plate to make the marks, leaving behind a raw, urgent look. Check out the technique: etching, drypoint, aquatint to see how artists make prints like this.
Alphonse Legros (French pronunciation: ; 8 May 1837 – 8 December 1911) was a French, later British, painter, etcher, sculptor, and medallist.
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