BG 156
EUGENE BOUDIN
Honfleur 1824 - 1898 Deauville
Le sas à Trouville (The lock at Trouville)
Signed and dated E. Boudin 94; inscribed with the title on the reverse
Oil on panel: 12 ¾ x 16 1/8 in / 32.5 x 41 cm
Frame size: 19 x 22 ¾ in / 48.3 x 57.8 cm
Provenance:
Guillaud Collection, Paris ;
Durand-Ruel, Paris, acquired from the above for FFr. 1,000 on 6th February 1902;
F Lindete, Paris, acquired from Durand-Ruel on 26th March 1902
Private collection, Europe
Kunsthandel ML de Boer, Amsterdam;
from whom acquired in February 1976 by a Dutch private collector;
by descent
Literature:
Robert Schmit, Eugène Boudin, 1824-1898, Paris, 1973, vol. III, p.259, no. 3285, illus.
Eugène Boudin was the son of an Honfleur sailor and his genius expressed itself in capturing the myriad moods of the Normandy coast. Pursuing en plein air ‘the simple beauties of nature’, he often expressed his frustration when trying to evoke the ever-changing sea and sky. ‘I feel this vastness, this delicacy, the brilliant light which transforms everything to my eyes into magical brushes and I can’t make my muddle of colours convey this’.
Boudin first visited Trouville in 1861 or 1862 and returned there every summer for the rest of his life, wintering in Paris, which he disliked. Over forty years he saw Trouville develop from a quiet fishing village to a more busy port which attracted fashionable visitors and which exported hay and cider in return for wood and English coal. In 1884 Boudin built a house at Deauville, just across the La Touques river from Trouville The sense of contentment which his Villa Marinette brought him allowed Boudin to explore Trouville and its environs all the more thoroughly.
This 1894 view of Le sas à Trouville (The lock at Trouville) depicts the new floating dock, entered by a lock, which had been built in 1890. Characteristic of Boudin’s work of the 1890s is the very free, allusive brushwork, combined with a serene, spacious composition. Boudin eschews the bustle of human activity in favour of exploring the verticals of masts and horizontals of the land, and the infinitely subtle gradations of a cloudy Normandy sky, reflected in the water of the dock. He liked to work in the early morning or the evening, when the sailors and port workers were fewer. The absence of people suited his personality as a ‘dreamer who prefers a little silence and solitude’, a man drawn to ‘the….more poetic tones of natural elements’.
EUGENE BOUDIN
Honfleur 1824 - 1898 Deauville
Eugène Boudin was one of the most important precursors of the Impressionists; his ever-increasing critical acclaim rests on an unrivalled reputation as a master of beach and coastal scenes.
Born in Honfleur, Boudin was the son of a harbour pilot. In 1844, he opened a stationery and framing shop in Le Havre, where his clients included Thomas Couture, Eugène Isabey, Jean François Millet and Constant Troyon. Although Boudin had no academic training, he spent much time drawing and the visiting painters greatly encouraged his innate artistic ability.
In 1847 Boudin went to Paris and devoted his attention to studying and copying Old Masters in the Louvre. In 1851 he was awarded a three-year scholarship by the City of Le Havre. However, instead of pursuing indoor, academic studio work, Boudin was inspired by the idea of painting en plein air and made a number of painting trips to Le Havre, Honfleur and other coastal towns in northern France. He made his debut at the Salon in 1859, where his work was much admired by Charles Baudelaire and Gustave Courbet, and he was heralded by Corot as the ‘king of the skies’.
Boudin became Monet's first teacher, persuading him to paint out of doors, and in 1874 he was invited to participate in the first Impressionist exhibition. Boudin spent the rest of his career painting primarily around the coast of Le Havre, Honfleur and Trouville, inspired by the elegant society that flocked to the sparkling coastline. Whilst painting at Trouville he met the Dutch artist Johan Barthold Jongkind and, influenced by his boldness of technique, Boudin adopted freer brushwork and a brighter palette.
The exquisite sensibility of Boudin's work was recognised by the dealer Durand-Ruel, who organised exhibitions of his pictures in 1883, 1889, 1890 and 1891; in 1892, Boudin was awarded the Légion d'Honneur.
Works by Eugène Boudin can be found in the many museums worldwide including The National Gallery of Art, Washington DC; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The National Gallery, London; Musée d’Orsay, Paris; Musée du Louvre, Paris and The Hermitage, St Petersburg.