Death of the Vagabond

Alphonse Legros (French, 1837–1911)

1875

Medium/TechniqueEtching, drypoint, and aquatint

DimensionsSheet: 64.3 x 45.8 cm (25 5/16 x 18 1/16 in.)
Platemark: 55 x 38.9 cm (21 5/8 x 15 5/16 in.)
Image: 53.3 x 37.7 cm (21 x 14 13/16 in.)

Credit LineGift of Eric Bartholomay

Accession number2006.1963

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Description

"Death of the Vagabond," 1875, embodies Legros's influential adherence to realist motifs as well as his taste for dark subject matter. His thick etched line and coarse-grained aquatint reinforce the charged emotion of the subject. The mystical association of the dying man and the dying tree also help to pave the way for Symbolist works of the following decade. This tendency is also seen in Legros's suggestion of the hat brim to suggest a halo sanctifying the cast-off man.

InscriptionsSigned lower right in graphite pencil: A. Legros Lower left in graphite pencil: La mort du vagabond / 89

ProvenanceGallerie Michel (Paris); from whom purchased by Eric Bartholomay (Coventry, RI); his gift to MFA, 22 November 2006.