The Cemetery at Valognes

When still in the possession of the artist’s widow, this unusual work was listed as a drawing. It is, however, a painting on canvas in an unusual technique, apparently invented by Edgar Degas, called peinture à l’essence, in which the oil is removed from the paint and the residue is then diluted with turpentine. This enables one, among other things, to paint lines in a precise manner, almost like drawing, something not often seen in conventional oil paintings, but clearly visible here. Buhot’s painting is virtually all blacks, greys, and white, yet it fully captures the melancholy subject. As of ten or twenty years ago, the cemetery was still extant, and presumably still is, but the marshy habitat of the birds depicted here is gone.

Félix Buhot
French, 1847–1898

Private collection

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

Oil, chalk, and gouache on canvas, mounted on board
16 3/4 x 21 7/8 inches