Portrait of a Woman1875
Alphonse Legros painted this in 1875, aged 38. It is now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. More about this work
About this work
The image portrays a woman in a profile view, with her head turned towards the left. She has medium-length dark hair styled back, wearing a high-collared garment with ruffled edges. She has a sharp nose, defined cheekbones, and a firm chin. The background is a plain, light-colored canvas, and the artist's signature "A. Legros" and the year "1875" are seen in the upper right corner.
Description from the National Gallery of Art.
Alphonse Legros painted this in 1875, aged 38. It is now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.
How it was made
- Oil paint
- Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.
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
- 1963.1.2
- Credit
- Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
- Type
- Painting
- Licence
- CC0 1.0 Universal
- Museum record
- See it on the museum’s site
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