The Passage

1879-1885

Félix-Hilaire Buhot

Associated Names
Félix-Hilaire Buhot

Artist, French, 1847 - 1898

This is a painting of scenes on a ship under stormy weather. The image is composed of multiple vignettes depicting various activities and scenes occurring on a ship. Central to the composition is a detailed illustration of a ship deck with figures using umbrellas against the wind and rain. To the sides, there are smaller scenes, such as silhouetted figures against a stormy sea, and groups of people huddled under cover or engaged in different activities possibly related to music and rest. The top shows a series of sailboats battling rough waters under a brooding sky. Each vignette uniquely captures the somber mood of a stormy sea voyage, showcasing different perspectives and moments aboard the vessel.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching, drypoint, roulette, aquatint, and soft-ground etching in brown (main subject) and in black (margin illustrations) on heavy wove paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Ruth Cole Kainen

  • Dimensions

    plate: 32.5 x 24.4 cm (12 13/16 x 9 5/8 in.)
    sheet: 44.6 x 31.3 cm (17 9/16 x 12 5/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2012.92.18

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Bourcard/Goodfriend 1979, no. 143, State ii-iii/iv

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Paul Prouté S.A., Paris); Ruth Kainen, Washington, D.C., purchased July 3, 1976; Gift to NGA, 2012.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2005

  • The Prints of Félix Buhot: Impressions of City and Sea, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2005-2006, no. 57.

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, 143, ii-iii/iv

Inscriptions

lower center in plate: A Holiday / Rain Storm and / Music; lower right in plate, Cat. Bi / La Traversée. no. 143

Wikidata ID

Q75422690

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