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Eugène Louis Boudin Biography
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Considered by connoisseurs and collectors alike to hold a place of great importance in Impressionist painting, Eugene Boudin was born at Honfleur on July 12th 1824. He was brought up in the marine atmosphere of Le Harve and upon receiving a municipal grant he was able to study in Paris between the years 1851-1853. Many years of struggle were to follow, but his determination never wavered.
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He contributed to the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874 and to the Salons, attaining great success culminating in a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle in 1889.
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The painter par excellence of breezy skies and choppy waters at the mouth of the Seine, the harbours and jetties of the Normandy coast, the animation given to its seaside resorts by groups of Second Empire visitors, the coming and going of Channel and fishing boats, Boudin was an artist of the open-air and marine atmosphere who illuminates a distinct phase of Impressionist development. In the 1860’s (and until the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war) he was especially active at Trouville. It is interesting to note that Claude Monet worked with Boudin at Trouville during this period and for him at this time Boudin prophesied a great future.
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Boudin travelled extensively throughout the coastal towns of France, producing seascapes and beach scenes. He championed plein air painting, diligently observing the effects of light on the landscape. He died at Deauville on August the 8th 1898.
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He became as Corot described him, “the king of the skies” and, as Boudelaire thought, one destined to display “the prodigious wonders of air and water” by virtue of painting in the open air. To quote Boudin “Everything painted directly and on the spot has a strength, vigour and vivacity of touch that can never be attained in the studio; three brush strokes from nature are worth more than two days studio work at the easel. This was one of the major points of Impressionism, pursued by Claude Monet with a lifelong consistency and he was often quoted as saying “If I became a painter, it was thanks to Boudin.”
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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 Legion d'honneur.
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| Selected Exhibitions |
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Examples of Boudin’s work may be seen in the following museums: Alencon; Alger; Dieppe; Honfleur; Le Harve; Nantes; Louvre; Reims; Stockholm National Museum; Metropolitan Museum, New York; State Hermitage Museum, Russia; Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums, Scotland; Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco and the National Gallery in London.
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| Links to further information |
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