La Petite Marine - Souvenir de Medway
Medium
etching, drypoint, aquatint, and roulette in black on laid paper
Dimensions
plate: 16.6 x 21.8 cm (6 9/16 x 8 9/16 in.) sheet: 31.8 x 38.2 cm (12 1/2 x 15 1/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1943.3.1243
Art Historical Context
Félix-Hilaire Buhot's *La Petite Marine - Sou de Medway* (1879) captures a nostalgic glimpse of the Medway River in Kent,, rendered as a intimate "little seascape." Buhot, a innovative French printmaker active in the late 19 century, was renowned for his atmospheric depictions of marine and urban life. This work reflects his travels abroad and fascination with fleeting light and water, evoking the era's growing interest in travel souvenirs and plein-air impressions amid the etching revival in France. Masterfully combining etching, drypoint, aquatint, and roulette on laid paper, Buhot achieves...
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...