Farm with a Large Tree (La Ferme au Grand Arbre)
mid-19th century
Medium
etching with drypoint
Dimensions
sheet: 48.2 × 33.4 cm (19 × 13 1/8 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Corcoran Collection (Gift of E. Gerald Lamboley)
Accession Number
2015.143.1362
Art Historical Context
Alphonse Legros, a French artist active in the mid-19th century, the serene beauty of rural France in *Farm with a Tree (La Ferme au Grand Ar)*. Created during a time when Realism was gaining prominence, this etching reflects Legros's fascination with everyday landscapes, drawing from the traditions of 17th-century masters like Rembrandt. Born in 1837, Legros bridged French and British art scenes, later becoming a professor at the Slade School in London and a key figure in the 19th-century Etching Revival, which emphasized printmaking's expressive potential. The work's medium—etching combined...
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...