Head of a Man (Tete d'homme)

Art Historical Context

Behold the striking *Head of a Man (Tête d'homme)*, etching by Alphonseros, crafted sometime between 1826 and 1850. Housed in the National Gallery of Art's Rosen Collection within the Prints department (CG-E), this intimate portrait exemplifies Legros' prowess as a 19th-century French artist who later became a key figure in Britain's art scene. Through the meticulous medium of etching—an intaglio technique where acid bites into a metal plate to create precise, fluid lines—Legros captures the textured contours of the subject's face with remarkable depth and character. Legros, aligned with the ...

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...