Mountain Landscape with two Figures at the Right 1905

Alphonse Legros made this landscape with pastel on paper, though we can't be sure exactly when. At first glance it is just a landscape with figures, but the muted tones and soft forms evoke a sense of melancholy that was typical of late 19th-century aestheticism. Born in France, Legros spent much of his career in England, teaching at the Slade School of Fine Art. The Slade was a progressive institution that admitted women and encouraged experimentation, but Legros himself was a traditionalist who emphasized drawing and the importance of studying the Old Masters. Here, the figures, dwarfed by the landscape, invite us to contemplate the relationship between humanity and nature. Is this a comment on the rise of industrialization and the alienation of modern life? Or is it simply a romantic vision of a simpler past? To understand it fully, we might look at exhibition reviews from the period, or delve into Legros's biography, to better understand his personal beliefs and artistic influences. Ultimately, our understanding of this work depends on situating it within its specific social and institutional context.