Artwork
Preliminary Sketch for "The Passage" (La Traversee)

Preliminary Sketch for "The Passage" (La Traversee) is a graphite drawing by the Romanticist artist Félix-Hilaire Buhot. It dates from 1872 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Preliminary Sketch for "The Passage" (La Traversee) is a graphite drawing on laid paper created by Félix-Hilaire Buhot in 1872. It is part of the National Gallery of Art's collection in Washington.
Subject & Meaning
The sketch depicts two figures in rough, gestural lines, one wearing a wide-brimmed hat and loose coat, the other with facial features barely discernible. The background features jagged shapes suggestive of trees or rocks.
Technique & Style
The drawing's loose, rapid lines and textured paper convey a sense of spontaneity. The graphite marks reveal the paper's original weave, adding to the work's rough, unpolished quality.
Artist & collection







![Gillingham Pier, London [verso], by Félix-Hilaire Buhot](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/felix-hilaire-buhot--gillingham-pier-london-verso--641e03dd7de8217b-w320.webp)









![Sheet of Studies [recto and verso], by John Flaxman](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/john-flaxman--sheet-of-studies-recto-and-verso--af59e52d5279d768-w320.webp)

![Figure Studies [verso], by Thomas Sully](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/thomas-sully--figure-studies-verso--951eb42592bb5e4f-w320.webp)