The Reapers 1907

Alphonse Legros made this drawing, "The Reapers," around 1907, using graphite on paper. It depicts three women hard at work in the fields. Born in France, Legros spent much of his career in England. This drawing reflects the influence of the Realist movement, which sought to portray the lives of ordinary people with unvarnished honesty, often turning to the laboring classes for subject matter. Consider how the image creates meaning through visual codes. The figures are humble and weary, yet also dignified. Legros was Professor of Fine Art at the Slade School in London for nearly two decades, a period during which he promoted etching as a fine art. His institutional position gave him considerable power to shape the direction of British art. Historians piece together the full meaning of works like this by researching the economic conditions of the time, exhibition records, and the artist's biography. Art always exists in a specific social and institutional context.