Return of the Peasants
1826 to 1850
Medium
graphite
Dimensions
overall (approximate): 18.9 x 38.5 cm (7 7/16 x 15 3/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of George Matthew Adams in memory of his mother, Lydia Havens Adams
Accession Number
1956.14.21
Art Historical Context
"Return of the Peasants is a captivating graphite drawing by French artist Alphonse Legros created between 1826 and 1850. Measuring approximately 18.9 x 38.5 cm, this intimate work captures a panoramic rural scene, evoking the daily rhythms of peasant life in 19th Europe. Legros, renowned for his draftsmanship, uses the versatile medium of graphite to achieve subtle tonal variations and delicate shading, hallmarks of preparatory sketches that often bridged painting and printmaking traditions. Graphite drawings like this one were prized for their immediacy and portability, allowing artists to ...
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...