Study of a Figure
1888
Medium
Silverpoint on white prepared paper
Dimensions
11 x 8 1/4 in. (27.9 x 20.9 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of the artist, 1892
Accession Number
92.13.7
Tags
About this artwork
This drawings by french and british artist Alphonse Legros exemplifies the artistic achievements of 1888. French artistic production during this era was central to European cultural life, with artists developing new approaches to composition, technique, and subject matter. Drawing served as a vital practice for artists, functioning as both preparatory studies and finished works that reveal creative processes and technical skills. Cast or worked in silverpoint on white prepared paper, this piece ...
Art Historical Context
Alphonse Legros, a French-born artist who became a prominent figure in British art circles, created *Study of a Figure* 1888 as a silverpoint drawing on white prepared. Measuring a modest 11 x 8¼ inches, this intimate study captures a male nude, showcasing Legros's mastery of the human form. Gifted by the artist himself the Metropolitan Museum of Art 1892, it now resides in the Drawings and Prints department, offering visitors a window into his preparatory processes. Silverpoint, a technique dating back to the Renaissance and revived by 19th-century artists, involves drawing with a silver sty...
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...