Fountain: Grotesque, Children and Basin (Une fountaine: Masque, enfants et bassin) 

Alphonse Legros created this intaglio print, called "Fountain: Grotesque, Children and Basin," to explore the interplay of classical and natural forms. Legros spent much of his career in England teaching etching, and his work often reflects his interest in the traditions of the Old Masters. Here, a grotesque, bearded face looms above a fountain, flanked by two cherubic children. The fountain itself is adorned with another grotesque mask, highlighting the visual tension between innocence and the grotesque. Legros was influenced by the cultural climate of 19th-century Europe, where artists explored themes of mythology, nature, and the human condition. He engages with classical iconography and infuses it with a raw, emotional sensibility. The use of grotesque imagery was often a way to explore the darker aspects of human nature. Consider how the artist’s representation develops alternative narratives of beauty and repulsion. The print resonates with a sense of emotional depth, inviting us to contemplate the relationship between the human form and the natural world.