The Footbridge c. 1900

"The Footbridge" was made by Alphonse Legros using etching, a printmaking technique. Lines are incised into a metal plate with a sharp tool, and then acid is applied to deepen these lines. The plate is inked and then pressed onto paper, transferring the image. Legros was a master of this demanding process, and here, the etched lines capture the landscape’s details, from the rough textures of the foliage to the smooth surface of the water. You can almost feel the weight of the metal plate, the pressure of the printing press, and the artist's hand guiding the etching tool. Etching allowed for the relatively easy reproduction of images, and its rise paralleled the growth of the art market and the industrial revolution. Legros’s choice of etching as a medium connects the work to larger issues of artistic production, labor, and the growing accessibility of art in the 19th century. It challenges the traditional hierarchy between fine art and more democratic forms of visual culture.