Orage à la Fin du jour

Art Historical Context

"Orage à la Fin du jour" (Storm at the End of the Day), created by Paul Huet in 1868, presents a dramatic landscape charged with the energy of approaching weather. The title suggests a scene unfolding at dusk, where light and shadow play across the sky and land. As a print in the National Gallery of Art’s collection, it offers visitors a glimpse into 19th-century French interest in nature’s moods and the changing atmosphere of the day. Huet produced this work using etching with drypoint on chine collé, a refined technique that combines incised lines with the soft burr of drypoint for rich tonal effects. The delicate chine collé paper, mounted on a larger sheet, allows fine details to stand out while the overall sheet measures 44.9 by 63.4 cm. This method was valued for capturing the subtle textures of clouds, wind, and terrain. The print’s modest plate size of 20 by 27.6 cm concentrates the composition, inviting close viewing. Acquired through the Thomas F. Hancock Memorial Fund, it stands as a fine example of how printmaking could convey both intimacy and grandeur in the late 1800s.

About the Artist

Paul Huet · 1803–1869

Paul Huet was born in Paris in 1803 and emerged as one of the founding figures of French Romantic landscape painting, a pioneer who helped chart the course from the classical tradition of the previous century toward the freer, more emotionally charged approach to nature that would define the Romantic era. As a young man he studied briefly with Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes and Antoine-Jean Gros, bu...