1874
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
The Tree of Salvation (L'arbre de salut) is a 1874 ink by Alphonse Legros, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This sketch shows two people sitting under a rough, twisted tree. Their clothes are loose and worn, with heavy folds that look like fabric from long ago. One person has their head resting on their hand, while the other leans forward, almost touching the ground. The tree’s gnarled branches and the rough texture of the lines make everything feel heavy and real. The artist used sharp, scratchy marks to show the fabric and bark, almost like they were drawing with a needle. Try looking up drypoint to see how this technique 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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