
Fisherman with a Hoop-net (La peche a la truble)
Alphonse Legros made this. It is now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. More about this work
About this work
The image shows a man in a forest using a long tool. Tall trees flank him on either side. The ground rises to a hill in the background. The artwork is detailed, with intricate lines showing leaves and foliage. The color scheme is monochromatic, dominated by shades of brown and beige, giving a rustic feel. The scene is filled with trees and foliage, with a distant hill visible.
Description from the National Gallery of Art.
Alphonse Legros made this. It is now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.
How it was made
- Aquatint
- Resin dust is fused to the plate and bitten with acid, so the plate prints areas of tone, like a wash, rather than lines.
- Etching
- The artist draws with a needle through a waxy coating on a copper plate, and acid bites the exposed lines. The plate is then inked, wiped and printed under pressure, so the line keeps the freedom of drawing.
Alphonse Legros
French, 1837–1911
Legros trained in Dijon and Paris, where he befriended Whistler and Fantin-Latour, and in 1863 he settled in London at Whistler’s suggestion. His etchings and paintings of peasants, beggars, monks and forests carry the sober realism of his French training. He became an influential teacher, serving as Slade Professor at University College London from 1876 to 1892, and helped to revive etching and the cast portrait medal in Britain.
Written by Ochre Editions.
Rights and the museum’s record
Public domain. The National Gallery of Art has dedicated this image to the public domain under CC0, so anyone may copy, adapt and use it, for any purpose, without asking. Our prints and files are reproductions made from the museum’s image; the museum doesn’t endorse them.
- Object number
- 1952.10.31
- Credit
- Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
- Type
- Licence
- CC0 1.0 Universal
- Museum record
- See it on the museum’s site













