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Preliminary Sketch for "The Passage" (La Traversee)

Félix-Hilaire Buhot

1872

graphite

paper

From the collection of National Gallery of Art

Romanticism Late 19th Century

Dominant colour

Preliminary Sketch for "The Passage" (La Traversee) is a 1872 graphite by Félix-Hilaire Buhot, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.

Who painted this?: Félix-Hilaire Buhot
When & what style?: 1872 · Romanticism
Where can I see it?: National Gallery of Art

About this work

This sketch shows two rough figures in quick, shaky lines. One wears a wide-brimmed hat and a loose coat, while the other’s face is mostly a tangle of strokes. The background has a few jagged shapes that might be trees or rocks, and the paper looks old and uneven. The artist didn’t smooth out the lines—it feels like they were drawn fast, almost like a first idea. The paper has a textured look, with some faint marks that might be from the paper’s original weave. If you like this sketchy, fast style, look up Romanticism next.