The Little Funeral

The appearance of funeral scenes in Buhot’s work may be attributed to his melancholic disposition, but there is another source as well. Buhot’s Paris studio was on the Boulevard de Clichy, and one side of that street was lined with houses containing many artists’ studios. The opposite side of the street was a locus of funeral parlors and dealers in funereal goods, and a cortege moving slowly down the street would have been an everyday sight for the artist. One should note that the two foreground figures and their single umbrella have been transported from the Champs-Elysées, where they appeared a year earlier in The Return of the Artists.

Félix Buhot
French, 1847–1898

Private collection

1884

This image is posted publicly for non-profit educational uses, excluding printed publication. Other uses are not permitted.

Etching, drypoint, aquatint, and roulette
State two of two
Plate: 3 3/8 x 4 1/2 inches