Exhibitions
Master Impressions from the UAMA Collections: Alphonse Legros
November 4, 2011 – February 5, 2012
Alphonse Legros, Un Orage (A Storm)
c.1860, drypoint
Museum Purchase with funds provided by the Edward J. Gallagher, Jr. Memorial Fund
"Storms traditionally denoted the power of nature and chaos. Billowing forms in addition to curving and straight lines represent the storm’s intensity. Employment of thick and thin burin lines depict a detailed as well as abstract impression of a storm. Visually the raging waves mimic the dark patch of sky interwoven with the straight lines of rain. Lines dispersed across the water and along the shore heighten this feeling of uproar in nature."
-- Alphonse Legros (1837 –1911)
Alphonse Legros was born in Dijon, France on May 8, 1837. As a young man he worked as a theater decorator and attended classes at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, where he was among Horace Lecoq de Boisbaudran’s most notable students. Legros made his début at the Paris Salon of 1857 with the painting Portrait of the Artist’s Father. Legros was inspired by Early Nederlandish art and French Romanticism, and his style recalls works by Holbein, Michelangelo, Lorrain, Poussin, and Ingres. He knew a number of French and British impressionists and realists who also influenced his work.
Legros excelled as a draftsman, and began making prints in the 1850s. The medium suited him and he eventually produced more than 600 plates. Legros’ print style is characterized by thick burin lines reminiscent of prints by Rembrandt and Spanish artists. This contrasted with the practice of the Impressionists, who were using light burin lines at this time. Another unique aspect of Legros’ printmaking process was the utilization of dry point, and retouching print proofs with a pen or brush.
Legros had a long and distinguished career in England, and he rejuvenated British drawing and printmaking.
Visit our Exhibition History page for information on past exhibitions at UAMA.