Centaur Woman
1826 to 1850
Medium
pen and brown ink over graphite on wove paper
Dimensions
overall (approximate): 29.5 x 42.1 cm (11 5/8 x 16 9/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1943.3.5509
Art Historical Context
Alphonse Legros created *Centaur Woman* as a striking exploration of mythological themes rendered in pen and brown ink over graphite on wove paper. The drawing, measuring approximately 29.5 by 42.1 centimeters, depicts the hybrid figure with careful attention to form and movement, blending human and equine elements in a dynamic composition. Legros, a French artist active in the mid-nineteenth century, often drew from classical subjects while working within the Realist tradition, using such imagery to examine the boundaries between the natural and the fantastical. The medium itself highlights ...
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...