Félix Buhot
(France 1847–1898)
- Title
- Westminster Bridge
- Other titles:
- Westminster clock tower
- Year
- circa 1884
- Media category
- Materials used
- etching with drypoint, aquatint and roulette
- Edition
- trial proof (Probably first state before cancellation of plate)
- Dimensions
-
28.2 x 39.5cm platemark; 31.5 x 41.7cm sheet
- Signature & date
- Signed l.c. sheet, ink "Felix Buhot". Not dated.
- Credit
- Purchased 1986
- Accession number
- 183.1986
- Location
- Not on display
- Further information
Felix Buhot, famous for his depictions of Paris, set out to do a series of prints of London. A pair from this series which remained unfinished, 'Westminster Palace' and 'Westminster Bridge', show two aspects of the one scene - the classic view of traditional architecture and the modern city. Buhot illustrates the city's building boom, shipping, rushing crowds of workers and the first underground transport system - whilst evoking an Impressionist atmosphere. He elaborates the central subject with his characteristic "symphonic" and "episodic" margins. Buhot was obsessed with making variations in all aspects of the printmaking process. He searched bookshops for old paper to use, and sometimes stained paper with tea or turpentine. This print is signed and inscribed as an artist's proof - a print that is not part of an edition but might serve as the one to compare for the edition's consistency and quality. This impression carries Buhot's large red owl stamp, indicating his approval of this trial proof.
AGNSW Handbook, 1994
- Bibliography (1)
-
Ewen McDonald (Australia) (Editor), The Art Gallery of New South Wales collections, Sydney, 1994, 131 (colour illus.).
