Baptism
c. 1870
Medium
etching
Dimensions
sheet: 39.9 × 29.6 cm (15 11/16 × 11 5/8 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase, Mary E. Maxwell Fund)
Accession Number
2015.143.45
Art Historical Context
Alphonse Legros' *Baptism*, created around 1870, is a striking etching that captures a solemn religious moment with intimate detail. The French-born artist, who settled in London and became a leading figure in the 19th-century etching revival drew inspiration from masters like Rembrandt. This print, measuring 39.9 × 29.6 cm, exemplifies Legros' mastery of the medium, where acid bites into a metal plate to create rich, tonal contrasts and fine lines—techniques that allowed for nuanced expressions and atmospheric depth in reproductions of his original works. Etching held particular significance...
About the Artist
Alphonse Legros · 1837–1911
Alphonse Legros (1837–1911) was born in Dijon, France, and trained in Paris at the drawing school of Horace Lecoq de Boisbaudran, whose unconventional teaching method — which emphasised memory drawing and acute observation over academic convention — would leave a lasting mark on Legros's practice. At Lecoq's school he formed friendships with Jules Dalou and Auguste Rodin that endured throughout hi...