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The Marine Painter (Le Peintre de Marine)

Félix-Hilaire Buhot

1872

ink

paper

From the collection of National Gallery of Art

Romanticism Late 19th Century Marine

Dominant colour

The Marine Painter (Le Peintre de Marine) is a 1872 ink 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 print shows a lone figure walking on a stormy beach. The person holds a long pole, maybe to steady themselves against the wind. Waves crash hard against the shore, and the sky is thick with swirling clouds. The artist used lots of different techniques to create texture—scratching into the plate, adding ink in layers, and even using sandpaper. It’s all about making the chaos of the storm feel real. Want to know more about how artists like this made prints? Look up etching, drypoint, aquatint.