48. Félix Buhot
(1847-1898)
Les Oies (The Geese)

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Buhot, Les Oies

Les Oies (The Geese)

Etching, drypoint and aquatint, 1887, B/G 166 i/vi, 154 x 254 mm. A superb impression, according to Bourcard one of only two known of the first state (though, in fact, probably up to ten impressions exist), loaded with drypoint burr over a varied pale aquatint background with white highlights, on Sainte Marie laid paper with full margins, not signed but annotated in pencil "BaT" (Bon à Tirer). Obviously, rare. These first-state impressions are so different from those of the later states as to seem to be entirely different prints (compare the following entry), and Buhot, perhaps more than any other artist, was well aware that a print could be considered "finished" at several different points in its facture.