Head of a Young Girl (Tete de jeune fille)

Art Historical Context

Alphonse Legros, a French-born artist who later became a key figure in British art circles, created *Head of a Young GirlTête de jeune fille)* sometime between 1826 and 1850. This lithograph in sanguine—a warm, reddish medium derived from iron oxide crayons—captures the delicate features of its young subject with remarkable tenderness and realism. Legros, associated with the Realist movement, favored such close-up portraits to explore human expression and everyday beauty, drawing from the traditions of Rembrandt and Spanish masters. Lithography, a revolutionary 19th-century printing technique, allowed artists like Legros to achieve subtle tonal gradations and a painterly quality on stone, making fine art more accessible beyond oil paintings. The sanguine tone here enhances the softness of the girl's skin and hair, evoking a sense of warmth and immediacy that invites viewers to ponder her story—perhaps a fleeting moment from daily life in mid-19th-century Europe. Now housed in the National Gallery of Art's Department of Prints (CG-E), this work was generously gifted by George Matthew Adams in memory of his mother, Lydia Havens Adams. It exemplifies how prints bridged elite galleries and broader audiences, preserving Legros' masterful draftsmanship for generations of admirers.

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...