Plague Victims of Rome (Les pestiferes de Rome)
1826 to 1850
Medium
etching
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1943.3.5384
Art Historical Context
In the haunting etching *Plague Victims of RomeLes pestiferes de)*, French-born artist Alphonse Leg captures the grim reality of a historical epidemic, dated to the period between 1826 and 1850. Housed in the National Gallery of Art's Rosen Collection (Department CG-E, Classification: Print), this work exemplifies Legros's skill as a printmaker, blending Realism with dramatic intensity. Etching, Legros's favored medium, involves incising lines into a metal plate with acid, allowing for intricate textures and tonal depth that convey profound human suffering—perfect for evoking the chaos and des...
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...