Sunset By The Sea - French School Of The Early 20th Century

French school of the early 20th century
Sunset by the sea
Pastel on paper
H. 22 cm; W. 29 cm
Monogrammed and dated lower right – HB 1912

This sky study is part of the Impressionist tradition initiated by Eugène Boudin, the undisputed master of Norman skies. With its horizontal format and refined composition, the work pays homage to atmospheric contemplation, emphasizing light and the fleeting effects of clouds on the sea. The sky, the true protagonist of the painting, occupies the upper two-thirds of the composition, bathed in a delicate palette of pinks, golds and periwinkle blues, evoking the sunset. The pastel treatment, with its velvety material and diaphanous overlays, accentuates the fleetingness of the captured moment — an impression of “very little nothing,” dear to Boudin. The dark shore, fringed with marine vegetation, seems to absorb the last rays of daylight, in a subtle balance between figuration and sensation. The artist, a worthy heir to Boudin, captures with acute atmospheric sensitivity the suspended moment when light shapes the landscape, almost abolishing all narration in favor of pure visual poetry.