Eugène Boudin (1824-1898) born in Honfleur, Normandy, was a specialist of marine paintings and excelled at depicting skies. He took Claude Monet (1840-1926) under his wing early on. They met in 1858 in Le Havre, Normandy, in a shop where Monet was selling his caricatures and Boudin exhibiting some paintings.
After the epiphany Monet had, thanks to Boudin and his plein-air training sessions, he famously said :
I had grasped what painting could be; from the sole example of this artist in love with his art, and with independence, my destiny as a painter had opened up. If I have become a painter, I owe it to Eugène Boudin.
Oil on canvas by Eugène Boudin. Sun setting in Plougastel, Brittany, painted in 1871. © Galerie A&G
Boats on the beach: Watercolor by Eugene Boudin with E.B monogram. Coming with a certificate of authenticity. From the collection of Gilbert Dreyfus (1902-1989), WWII resistant, friend of Aragon, and illustrious doctor. © MANUSCRIPTA
Study of cows: Pencil and oil on paper attributed to Eugène Boudin. It was offered to Charles Masson, Chief Curator of the Luxembourg Museum, by Gustave Cahen, executor of Boudin. © Galerie Mazarini
Eugène Boudin was heavily influenced by Dutch painters due to his training making copies at Le Louvre. Another Dutch painter, alive this time, had a significant influence on him. In 1861, he met with Johan-Barthold Jongkind (1819-1891) through the painter Eugène Isabey. Jongkind had first trained at The Hague art academy. He arrived in Paris in 1846 and discovered Normandy, especially Honfleur, in 1847.
Boudin and Jongkind really hit it off. They later spent many days working side by side at the farm Saint-Siméon near Honfleur with other artists. Monet wrote to his painter friend Frédéric Bazille in 1864: “I am still in Saint-Siméon where we are happy and I paint a lot. […] We have quite a nice small circle. Boudin and Jongkind are here. We get along marvelously and won’t leave one another. […] I regret you are not with us as there is much to learn in such company.”
Jongkind was a mentor to them for the treatment of landscapes and skies. Monet specifically said of Jongkind:
It is to him that I owe the definitive education of my eye.
Jongkind discovered the Dauphiné region in 1873 for family reasons. Until the end of his life, he spent a lot of time around Châbon, La Côte-Saint-André, Grenoble and Lyon.
1880 watercolor “Clouds on La Côte-Sainte-André” by Johan-Barthold Jongkind with a pencil sketch on the other side. Registered by the Comité Jongkind. © Red Rose Fine Art
1882 double-sided watercolor “Farm and tilery near La Côte-Saint-André” by Johan-Barthold Jongkind. Registered by the Jongkind Comité. © Galerie Vaujany
~
~ MAIN STORY: Impressionism Celebrated by PROANTIC ~
~
You May Like
Eugène Boudin | Johan-Barthold Jongkind | 19th-Century Fine Arts | Landscape Paintings | Seascapes & Marine Paintings
