La Diligence de Beaucaire (The Diligence of Beaucaire)
c. 1885
Medium
etching, drypoint, roulette, and aquatint in black on Japanese paper
Dimensions
plate: 17.4 x 11.3 cm (6 7/8 x 4 7/16 in.) sheet: 30.1 x 20.9 cm (11 7/8 x 8 1/4 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Helena Gunnarsson Buhot Collection
Accession Number
1995.54.3
Art Historical Context
**La Diligence de Beau (The Diligence ofcaire)**, created around 1885 by French printmaker Félix-Hilaire Buhot, captures the charm of 19th-century travel in Provence. Buhot, a master of the etching revival, depicts a horse-drawn diligence—a stagecoach—arriving in the historic town of Beaucaire, evoking the fading era of coach travel just as railroads began dominating French transport. This intimate scene reflects Buhot's fascination with everyday life, blending whimsy and realism in a compact plate measuring just 17.4 x 11.3 cm. Buhot's technical brilliance shines through his innovative use o...
About the Artist
Félix-Hilaire Buhot · 1847–1898
Félix-Hilaire Buhot was born on July 9, 1847, in Valognes, a small town in Normandy, France, into a modest family—his father a wine merchant and his mother a seller of women's clothes. Orphaned by age seven after losing both parents and his maternal grandmother, he was raised by relatives, including a godfather, and received an early introduction to drawing from his adopted mother's nephew. In 186...