The image is a sketch of an alleyway viewed from a slightly elevated angle. The scene shows buildings lining the narrow path, drawing the eye upwards. In the foreground, there is a group of figures and a solitary figure walking away. The pencil work is soft and sketchy, with varying intensities of graphite creating light and shadow. The composition is in shades of gray, with a monochromatic color palette emphasizing light and shadow. The background is indistinct, blending buildings and figures into a hazy suggestion of architecture and life.
Gallery mode Full size at the museum

A Backstreet in London

Gustave Doré (French, 1832 - 1883)

1868

Medium
graphite with stumping on wove paper
Classification
Drawing
Dimensions
sheet: 27.7 x 20.9 cm (10 7/8 x 8 1/4 in.)
Museum
National Gallery of Art, CG-E
Credit line
Gift in Memory of Philip Leonard
Rights
Public domain (NGA Open Access, CC0), as the museum states it.
Who can see it
Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed

View at the National Gallery of Art

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