Artwork
La Place des Martyrs et la Taverne du Bagne
La Place des Martyrs et la Taverne du Bagne is an ink print by the Impressionist artist Félix-Hilaire Buhot. It dates from 1885 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Horses and carriages traverse the wet pavement, and the surrounding architecture is rendered in deep, muted tones, suggesting a damp, atmospheric night.
Félix‑Hilaire Buhot’s 1885 print, titled La Place des Martyrs et la Taverne du Bagne, depicts a nocturnal Parisian street scene. The composition centers on a tavern whose illuminated sign reads “Taverne du Bagne,” while a line of pedestrians gathers outside. Horses and carriages traverse the wet pavement, and the surrounding architecture is rendered in deep, muted tones, suggesting a damp, atmospheric night.
Subject & Meaning
The work captures a moment of urban life in late‑19th‑century Paris, emphasizing the interplay between public space and private leisure. The crowded façade of the tavern, the flickering streetlights, and the wet cobbles convey a sense of immediacy and social interaction, hinting at the bustling, often gritty reality of the city’s working‑class neighborhoods.
Technique & Style
Buhot combined etching, aquatint, lift‑ground aquatint, drypoint, roulette, and burnishing on turpentine‑soaked paper to achieve a rich tonal range. The layered processes produce deep shadows, textured surfaces, and irregular line work; the rough edges and varied marks give the scene a lively, almost spontaneous quality that heightens its atmospheric effect.
History & Provenance
Created in 1885, the print belongs to the period when French artists were experimenting with mixed intaglio methods to enhance tonal depth. While specific ownership records are limited, the work has been documented in catalogues of Buhot’s oeuvre and appears in collections focusing on 19th‑century French printmaking.
Artist & collection
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Untitled