The Footbridge
c. 1900
Medium
Etching and drypoint on ivory wove paper
Dimensions
Plate: 14.1 × 20.5 cm (5 9/16 × 8 1/8 in.); Sheet: 22.7 × 29.5 cm (8 15/16 × 11 5/8 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
51295
Art Historical Context
Alphonse Legros' *The Footbridge* (c. 1900) captures a serene moment in the landscape tradition, showcasing the French-born artist's mastery as he bridged Realism and the etching revival in late 19th-century Britain. After moving to London in 1863, Legros a pivotal figure in British printmaking teaching at the Slade School Fine Art and inspiring a generation with his precise yet evocative techniques. This intimate etching likely depicts a rustic footbridge in a natural setting, evoking the quiet poetry of everyday rural scenes that Legros favored in his later works. Printed in etching and dry...
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...