The Spirits of Dead Cities by Félix Hilaire Buhot

The Spirits of Dead Cities

1886

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Artwork details

Dimensions
image: 28.7 × 39 cm (11 5/16 × 15 3/8 in.) sheet: 31.4 × 44.6 cm (12 3/8 × 17 9/16 in.)
Location
Harvard Art Museums
Copyright
CC0 1.0

About this artwork

Editor: This is Félix Buhot's "The Spirits of Dead Cities," and it's housed at the Harvard Art Museums. Looking at the textures and line work, it feels like a dreamscape. What stands out to you? Curator: The means of production interest me. Notice the etching technique and the plate's materiality. How does this medium influence the message about the "spirits" and the city as a site of production and consumption? Editor: So, the act of creating it, and the materials used, add another layer to the meaning? Curator: Precisely. Consider Buhot's labor, the acid, the metal. These elements shape the ephemeral spirits. It makes one wonder about the labor that built those "dead cities," doesn't it? Editor: I never thought about it that way. Thanks! Curator: My pleasure. Considering art through the lens of materiality provides such a rich understanding.

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