Eugène Boudin

Born in Honfleur on 12 July 1824, Eugène Boudin (born Eugène Louis Boudin) was a French painter. Born into a family of humble origins, in 1835 the artist moved to Le Havre, where he worked as an apprenticein a local print shop. He later opened his own workshop where he sold colours and could devote himself to his great passion: painting.

In 1848 Eugène made a long journey through Flanders and northern France. During this trip he deepened his studies in painting technique and then, in 1850, he managed to obtain a municipal scholarship which enabled him to study in Paris, where thanks to technical training he began to paint nature, his lifelong desire.

In 1855, he returned to Le Havre where he specialised in painting landscapes of the North Coast. The painter was inspired by Corot, who called Boudin "King of the skies", a nickname that extolled the fine technique used by Boudin to paint the clouds and the various shades that occupy a large part of his canvases.

His brushstrokes are fast and uneven, a technique that enables him to achieve great luminosity, especially when he uses light tones such as pale ochre or white lead, a white dye.

During this period, he also met Claude Monet, GustaveCourbet and Johan Barthold Jongkind. These artists assimilated Boudin's painting techniques and Monet later declared that he owed his becoming a painter above all to Eugène Boudin, as it was to him that he owed the definitive education of the eye.

Moving to Brussels

Following the Franco-Prussian war, he moved to Brussels in 1870, where he met the art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel, one of the first to understand the importance of the Impressionists and to sell Impressionist paintings both abroad and in his gallery in Paris.

In 1874, the painter participated with his colleagues in the Impressionist exhibition, but later, perhaps disappointed by the commercial failure, he decided not to participate in the following editions and to present himself only at the annual Salon exhibitions.

In 1881 Eugène Boudin moved to Deauville, where he specialised in seascapes. He made several trips during this period, both to Italy and the French Riviera. Finally, on 8 August 1898, he died in Deauville, but was buried in the Saint Vincent Cemetery in Paris.

Eugène Boudin: the most famous works

Considered one of the founding fathers of Impressionism, Eugène Boudin dedicated his life to painting and was a source of inspiration for many artists who adopted his painting techniques, which the artist honed to the end of his days. His paintings are housed in the world's greatest museums: National Gallery in London, The Art Institute of Chicago, Musée d'Orsay, Musée de Beaux-Arts de Lyon, etc.

His most famous works include "The beach at Trouville" painted in 1865, "Le Havre, the regatta festival" dated 1869, "The port Portrieux " dated around 1873, "The port of Antibes" dated 1893 and "Women on the beach at Berck" painted in 1881.

Article by: Aurora Caraman