Le Petite Enterrement (The Burial -- Small Plate)

Art Historical Context

Félix-Hilaire Buhot's *Le Petite Enterrement (The Burial -- Small Plate)*, created in 187, captures a poignant moment this intimate etching, inviting viewers into a somber, everyday scene on a remarkably small scale—plate dimensions of just 8.7 × 11.2 cm. Buhot, a French printmaker active during the Impressionist era, was renowned for his innovative approach to intaglio techniques, blending etching's precise lines with the velvety richness of other methods to evoke atmosphere and emotion. This "small plate" exemplifies his mastery, transforming a modest funeral procession into a deeply human narrative. The artwork employs a sophisticated mix of etching, drypoint, roulette, aquatint, and scraping on warm tan wove paper, creating textured tones and subtle gradations that mimic the fleeting light and mood of 19th-century Parisian life. Drypoint adds soft, fuzzy edges for tenderness, while aquatint and roulette build shadowy depths, and scraping lifts highlights for luminosity—techniques that pushed printmaking toward painterly effects, influencing later artists. Housed in the National Gallery of Art as part of the Helena Gunnarsson Buhot Collection—gifted in honor of the museum's 50th anniversary—this print highlights Buhot's underappreciated legacy in bridging Realism and Impressionism, offering visitors a window into the tactile magic of 1870s French graphic arts.

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...