35. Félix Buhot
(1847-1898)

Le Port aux Mouettes (The Port of Seagulls)

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Buhot, Le Port aux Mouettes

Le Port aux Mouettes (The Port of Seagulls)

Counterproof of the etching, 1886, B/G 162 iii/vii, 250 x 358 mm., ex collection: Beurdeley (Lugt 421). A soft, ghostly counterproof impression, printed à l’essence on an odd, thin, wove paper with full margins. The marginal sketches are only minimally here and mostly pale where they appear at all, and the gulls are not yet present either in the main subject or the margin. Sophisticated collectors like Beurdeley were fascinated by the working methods of experimental print makers like Buhot and sought out rare working proofs and counterproofs to add to their knowledge of how these complex images were created. Such proofs are rare and sometimes unique.