View over Flat Country 1906

Alphonse Legros made this landscape drawing with pencil, it's called 'View over Flat Country'. I really like how Legros approaches mark making here, he doesn’t want to hide the process. There's this kind of loose, searching quality in the lines. See how the pencil strokes are layered to build up the forms of the trees and figures? It’s like he’s thinking through the drawing as he goes. And the color – that limited palette of earthy browns – gives it a feeling of quiet contemplation. I am drawn to the darker shading around the base of the trees. It anchors the composition and provides a sense of depth. It's like the drawing is exhaling into the distance, which is pretty cool. Think of the drawings of Camille Corot, another French artist with an interest in landscape and the possibilities of tone. Ultimately, like all good art, this drawing feels more like a beginning than an end.