Biographies

Eugène Boudin (1824 – 1898)

Born into a seafaring family, Eugène Boudin is mostly known for his paintings of sea and sky. Although often described as ‘the painter of beaches’ . . . , it is the large, luminous sky that predominates in the work. Boudin worked directly from nature on the Normandy coast and in particular at the fashionable resorts of Deauville and Trouville. His seascapes and beach scenes were painted at many different times of the year and in a variety of changing weather conditions. He was responsible for introducing Claude Monet to this method of painting outdoors. Monet returned the compliment by painting the beach at Trouville several years later. Boudin’s overriding concern was light, and in his dabs of pure color and loose and delicate brushwork, he prefigured Impressionism, marking the link between Corot and the Impressionists. Indicative of the esteem in which he was held by the Impressionists, Boudin was included in their first exhibition in 1874.

Source:

Hodge, Nicola and Libby Anson. The A-Z of Art: The World’s Greatest and Most Popular Artists and Their Works. Carlton Books, 2002.