(Honfleur 1824 – Deauville 1898)

Eugène-Louis Boudin was a notable French painter and the direct precursor of the impressionists. He was one of the first French landscapers that painted outdoors. He was influenced by Isabey, and his style is similar to the Corot and Jongkind’s due to the realism and the poetry his seascapes and beaches have.

His father was pilot of vessels, and Boudin was born in Honfleur, Normandy. There he worked as his father’s assistant until they moved to The Havre, where his father opened stationery. There, he met artists that worked in the area like Constant Troyon and Jean-François Millet, as well as Eugène Isabey and Thomas Couture who encouraged him to follow an artistic career.

When Boudin was 22, his main activity was painting. He studied painting in The Havre, Belgium and in Paris, where he became friends with Courbet.

In The Havre (1854), Monet was one of his disciples. Thanks to Monet, Boudin met the Dutch painter Johan Jongkind, who was already known in the artistic circles of France. Jongkind advised Boudin to paint outdoors, and that is why, Boudin’s artworks have its Dutch influence.

In 1874, he took part in the first impressionist exhibition. In his pictures, one of the most characteristic things are the luminous skies - Corot called Boudin “the king of the skies” - that constitute the link between Courbet’s and the impressionists’ skies, especially of Monet.