Boudin – Sailboat near Honfleur

Eugène Louis Boudin

(1824 Honfleur – 1898 Deauville)

SAILBOAT NEAR HONFLEUR

Pastel on paper

15 x 23 cm

Signed lower right: E. Boudin

Provenance: Elias Martin Hardie Collection; Colnaghi Gallery, London

Preparatory study for the painting ‘HONFLEUR. LE PORT’, 1858 – 1862 (see excerpt from the catalogue raisonné)

Boudin, a precursor of Impressionism, one of the first plein air painters and teacher of Claude Monet, was born in Honfleur and spent almost his entire life in Normandy. His favourite subjects included beach scenes, the sea and the harbours of his homeland, and of course ships of all kinds, such as this one gliding past a quay wall. A sailing boat under full sail can appear incredibly light, as if it were flying over the water, and it is precisely this impression of floating lightness that Boudin achieved through his loose, sketch-like application of colour in pastel chalk.

In this pastel, he has precisely captured the atmosphere of a sunny day with calm seas and a light breeze using minimal means. A few light strokes of blue make the water surface sparkle. The light apricot colour of the sail, which intensifies in a stronger stripe at the top, reflects the warm sunlight. Monet and the other Impressionists admired him for this.