On the Beach at Trouville

Eugène Boudin

Oil on wood

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Boudin's airy brushwork captures a fashionable crowd gathered on the sands of Trouville, the elegant seaside resort that drew Parisian high society throughout the Second Empire. A horse-drawn bathing machine stands ready near the water's edge while parasol-toting figures in sweeping skirts stroll along the shore beneath a vast, cloud-filled sky that dominates the composition. Known as the 'king of skies' by his admirer Monet, Boudin pioneered plein-air painting of coastal leisure scenes, and his loose, luminous handling of light and atmosphere helped pave the way for Impressionism. This charming glimpse of nineteenth-century beach culture brings a breezy, nostalgic elegance to any room.