A Swarm of Flies above a Spider's Web

Alexandre-Louis Leloir

1860–84 · Pen and brown ink with graphite on chine collé · Drawings and Prints

Trained as a history painter, Leloir eventually abandoned academic, historical subjects in favor of genre scenes and book illustrations. He also founded the Société des Aquarellistes Français (Society of French Watercolorists). This delicate study contrasts the airy two-dimensional form of the spider’s web anchoring the lower left corner with the lifelike swarm of flies above, their size varied to suggest their placement in space, some nearer and some farther from the viewer.

Artist

Alexandre-Louis Leloir

Date

1860–84

Medium

Pen and brown ink with graphite on chine collé

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Gift of Amy and Emma Welcher and Alice Welcher Erickson, 1967