Animations:

Visit
Open today 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Admission is always free

6th and Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20565

Sculpture Garden Extended Hours

Open late until 8:00 p.m. on select nights
Through September 5
Exhibitions & Events
America’s 250th

Celebrating American art and artists
Art & Artists
Open Call

Artists Reimagining the Collection
Meet the 50 makers selected from more than 1,600 submissions

Open 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Visit
Open today 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Admission is always free

6th and Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20565

Sculpture Garden Extended Hours

Open late until 8:00 p.m. on select nights
Through September 5
Exhibitions & Events
America’s 250th

Celebrating American art and artists
Art & Artists
Open Call

Artists Reimagining the Collection
Meet the 50 makers selected from more than 1,600 submissions

Le Hibou (The Owl)

1883

Félix-Hilaire Buhot

Associated Names

Félix-Hilaire Buhot

Artist, French, 1847 - 1898

This drawing contains an allegorical and surreal scene, featuring a central framed image of an owl next to an open book on a pedestal. The words "PAUCA PAUCIS" are below the central image. Surrounding this central scene are various interconnected vignettes, including a cityscape, ships' masts, ghostly figures in the sky, and a figure sitting with a feather pen amidst swirling mist and smoke. The drawing is detailed and intricate, blending fantastical and real elements.

Download

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.

Not on view See artworks now on view

Artwork overview

Medium

etching, drypoint, aquatint, and saltground, with burnishing and roulette in black and brown ink on wove paper
Credit Line

Helena Gunnarsson Buhot Collection, Gift in Honor of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art
Dimensions

plate: 45.4 × 32.4 cm (17 7/8 × 12 3/4 in.)
sheet: 63 × 44.8 cm (24 13/16 × 17 5/8 in.)
Accession Number

2017.199.4
Catalogue Raisonné

Bourcard/Goodfriend 1979, no. 161, v/v

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Helena Gunnarsson, Washington, DC; gift to NGA, 2017.

Associated Names

Gunnarsson, Helena

Bibliography

1899

Bourcard, Gustave. Felix Buhot: catalogue descriptif de son oeuvre grave. Paris: H. Floury, 1899. Reprint. With additions and revisions by James Goodfriend. New York: Martin Goodfriend, 1979, no. 161, v/v.

Inscriptions

lower right in graphite: [indecipherable]; upper right in graphite verso: 161 B [indecipherable] 5em Etat; lower right in graphite verso: APG 7228

You may be interested in