Portret van een baby in een ovaal boven een tafel met wierook 1887

Félix Hilaire Buhot made this etching of a baby's portrait above a table sometime in the late 19th century. The ethereal image of the child floating above the scene connects to a wider social and cultural context of infant mortality rates during the period. Looking closely, the image creates meaning through visual codes that would have been easily read by Buhot’s contemporaries. Made in France, the print is awash with cultural references and historical associations. The placement of the portrait in an oval shape is a nod to the tradition of memorializing loved ones in portrait miniatures. Meanwhile, the owls and the book hint to mourning rituals. It critiques the institutions of the church and religion, especially around death. Understanding such an artwork better means examining the social and institutional contexts around death and mourning in the late 19th century. The meaning of art is always contingent on its time.