Curatorial Narrative Ernest Buval’s “Thtre des Nouveauts. Le premier baiser” exemplifies the Victorians’ propensity for spectacle and nostalgia. Executed in 1883, this work anchors itself within the broader landscape tradition of the era, while its painterly technique characterized by linear brushstrokes and a studied economy of gesture betrays an influence from the more subdued aesthetic of Barbizon’s rustic school.Buval’s use of red as a primary color imbues the piece with an air of dramatic intensity, one that is tempered by the judicious application of darker tones to establish spatial depth. Against this backdrop, the blue and white tints employed for the foliage and clouds contribute to a chromatic structure that veers towards eclecticism without sacrificing coherence. As such, “Thtre des Nouveauts. Le premier baiser” proves an intriguing subject when scaled up to 44×57 its material qualities, atmospheric weight, and spatia