Eugène Boudin

Eugène Boudin holds a pivotal position as one of the most significant precursors of the Impressionists. By the end of his career, Boudin was regarded as the premier marine painter, and his popularity continued to grow after his death.

Biography of Eugène Boudin

Eugène Boudin was born in 1824 in Honfleur, located in the Normandy region of France. He came from a family deeply connected to the sea, as both his parents earned their livelihood within the maritime community. His father achieved the rank of captain, while his mother worked as a stewardess.

At the age of ten, Boudin started working alongside his father, serving as a cabin boy on the Polichinelle, his father's boat that sailed between Honfleur and Rouen. There, on the boat, Boudin began his initial drawings, sketching in the margins of his book. Despite this formative experience contributing to his interest in the sea, he did not remain on the Polichinelle for long. His departure was prompted by a near-drowning incident.

The family relocated to Le Havre in 1835, and Boudin joined the École des Frères on the rue St. Jacques. He attended the school for just one year, during which he earned an award for handwriting and gained a reputation for sketching birds and leaves in his notebooks. At the end of the academic year, young Boudin started working for the printer Joseph Morlent. Shortly afterward, he shifted to a position at Alphonse Lemasle's stationery shop on the rue des Drapiers. Lemasle, recognizing Boudin's diligence and interest in drawing, purchased his first set of paints. Boudin continued working with Lemasle until the age of eighteen, after which he ventured out to establish his own business alongside Lemasle's foreman, Jean Acher.

In 1844, Boudin and Acher established their stationery shop. Flourishing as a business, it not only provided art supplies but also served as a local artists' hub, offering a space to showcase their work. The shop functioned as a makeshift gallery for these artists, offering Boudin exposure to a lifestyle he had not fully explored—the life of an artist. Despite Jean-Francois Millet's warning about the challenges of a penniless artist's existence, Boudin, influenced by encounters with artists like Constant Troyon, Thomas Couture, and Eugène Isabey, chose to pursue his artistic aspirations. 

Although the business connected him with influential artists, Boudin eventually sold his share to fulfill his mandatory military duty by hiring a replacement. This marked the moment when he decided to focus entirely on his career as an artist. Like many artists, Boudin faced immense challenges in the initial years. He worked diligently along the seaside from dawn to dusk, sketching everything in sight. Exploring as many various media as he could within his budget — pastels, watercolors, paintings, and drawings — he supplemented his income by selling flower paintings and still-lifes.

In 1847, he left for Paris, unaware that his artistic journey would repeatedly lead him back to his point of origin—the beaches of Normandy. When Boudin departed for Paris, he had numerous contacts, yet he remained a solitary figure, dedicating the majority of his free time to studying the old masters at the Louvre.

In 1849, the artist was enlisted to assist the sculptor Louis Rochet on a journey aimed at raising lottery funds to benefit artists. This was a fortunate opportunity for Boudin, as it allowed him to visit museums in Belgium and study painters from the Dutch school, including Willem Van De Velde, Jacob van Ruysdael, and Paulus Potter. Boudin's previous studies at the Louvre, along with his travels through northern France and modern-day Benelux, exposed him to both modern and traditional art, even though he lacked the luxury of formal artistic training enjoyed by many of his contemporaries.

Upon his return to Le Havre, Boudin started exhibiting at local exhibitions, making his public debut in 1850 at the Société des Amis des Arts exhibition in Le Havre. The society's purchasing committee acquired two of his works and was so impressed that the chairman of the municipal council recommended Boudin for a travel grant. Troyon and others supported Boudin's application, leading to the award of a three-year study grant providing him with 1200 francs annually to continue his work in Paris.

Boudin arrived in Paris in 1851, but to the dismay of the grant committee, he spent most of his time outside the city, traveling between Rouen, Le Havre, Honfleur, and Caen. Paris did not align with his interest in plein air painting, offering little artistic freedom. Boudin felt like an exile in Paris, stating, "In Paris, I am like an exile."

The artist rejected the idea of composing a painting solely within the studio, firmly believing that "Everything that is painted directly and on the spot always has strength, a power, and a vivacity of touch which one cannot recover in the studio." Despite his en plein air approach, Boudin's method was meticulous, involving numerous sketches before composing the final canvas. His deep respect for nature also fueled a sense of despair, particularly in his perceived inability to fully capture the splendors surrounding him. In his journal entry from March 1854, he expressed, "Nature is richer than I represent it." 

Nonetheless, Boudin's circle of influence expanded, and other artists and critics began to take notice of his art despite his reluctance to align with any stable group or definition. Charles Baudelaire was the first critic to acknowledge Boudin's talent. In 1859, Boudin made his debut at the Parisian salon with "Pardon de Saint Anne Palud" (Pardon of Saint Anne Palud). Baudelaire, who had visited Boudin's studio earlier that year, commented on Boudin's salon entry in his "Curiosités Esthétiques," placing Boudin's name among the most progressive artists of the time. 

In his quest for the ideal setting for his sketches, Boudin explored Normandy and, in 1855, ventured through the region of Brittany, including the cities of Douarnenez, a city he had "been dreaming of," and Quimper. Upon the advice of his compatriots, Boudin moved to a studio along Rue Pigalle in 1861. However, once again, he stayed in Paris only as long as necessary, dividing his time over the next several years between Paris, Le Havre, and Honfleur.

At the suggestion of his close friend Isabey, Boudin eventually traveled to Trouville and Deauville to work on beach scenes, two areas rapidly becoming popular sites for bourgeois relaxation. He created several sketches and paintings, focusing on the variations in dress, permutations of the sky, and effects of the environment and weather.

Boudin's art and career during the 1860s embodied key dilemmas facing painters of that era. Technically, he pursued a shorthand method to transcribe fleeting natural effects while believing that true art stemmed from the creative imagination. In terms of subject matter, he oscillated between a fascination with the world of high fashion on Normandy beaches and an appreciation for the indigenous customs of rural communities. Regarding marketing, he exhibited at the Salon but also explored other means to showcase his paintings to potential buyers.

Although scenes of fashionable individuals on the beach were a significant component of Boudin's oeuvre, he ceased painting them in the late 1860s, dedicating himself entirely to studies of the sky, boats, and herds of animals. His exceptional ability to capture the subtleties of the sky set him apart from other artists, as noted by Tristan Klingsor in "Un Précurseur de l'Impressionnisme: Eugène Boudin," La Nouvelle Revue, 1891.

Boudin's images gained popularity among those frequenting the beaches in Normandy. However, this alone did not secure him a comfortable living, prompting the artist to seek alternative ways to profit from his work. Although not immediately successful, he eventually established enough contacts to showcase his work semi-regularly through various dealers.

Throughout his career, Boudin explored other avenues, such as organizing his own auctions in Le Havre (1857, 1879), Caen (1862), and Paris (1879, 1888). These auctions had limited success overall, and it wasn't until the 1880s that Boudin secured a lasting partnership with Paul Durand-Ruel, providing him a consistent sponsor for his work.

Even though Boudin consistently submitted to both the Parisian Salons and various provincial Salons, the public and private recognition he hoped for did not materialize until around 1869. He had been exhibiting at the Parisian Salon since his debut in 1859 and had expanded his presence to exhibitions in cities like Rouen, Pau, Roubaix, and Grenoble. In 1870, he was approached by Belgian dealer M. Gauchez, who commissioned several works and invited him to Brussels during the Franco-Prussian war outbreak. Boudin stayed in Brussels until August 1871, and despite having reservations about the atmosphere and general environment, he returned to Belgium in 1875 and 1876.

In 1874, a controversial exhibition at the photographer Nadar’s gallery featured artists with audacious styles, including Paul Cezanne, Edgar Degas, Monet, Camille Pissaro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and other avant-garde artists. This was the first Impressionist exhibition, and Boudin was among the exhibitors, submitting two canvases, several pastels, and watercolors.

Despite being shown among some of the most progressive young artists, Boudin, as an older man, found himself competing against the energy of youth, which gradually began to wane. The mid-1870s brought the passing of his close friends Millet, Courbet, and Corot, adding to his deep sense of despair. This was further intensified by his affliction with facial neuralgia, a malady that would afflict him for the rest of his life. However, during this period, Boudin finally began to earn the respect and public recognition he had been striving for over the years.

In 1881, Boudin received his first medal from the Salon jury—a third-class medal for "La Meuse à Rotterdam" (The Meuse River at Rotterdam). In 1883, he received a second-class medal for "L’Entrée" (The Entrance) and "La Sortie" (The Departure). His paintings were frequently purchased by the State, including his 1886 Salon entry "Un Grain" (A Grain) in 1888, "La Corvette Russe Dans le Bassin de L’Eure – Le Havre" (Russian Corvette in the Basin of the Eure River – Le Havre), and in 1892, "Rade de Villefranche" (Villefranche Roadstead), the same year he was named a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor. Boudin continued to submit to the Salon until he died in 1898.

In addition to his successful Salon entries, Boudin's partnership with Durand-Ruel proved financially fruitful. In 1883, Durand-Ruel inaugurated his new gallery in Paris with an exhibition featuring 150 paintings, pastels, and drawings by Boudin. Boudin's sales and successes continued, including an 1888 auction at the Hôtel Drouot in Paris. In 1889, 1890, and 1891, successive shows were organized at Galerie Durand-Ruel. In 1890, Boudin was elected a member of the Société des Beaux-Arts. His work also crossed the Atlantic, being exhibited in Boston in 1890 and 1891.

As Boudin became frailer, he was encouraged to spend the winter months in the south of France, near Villefranche, Antibes, and Beaulieu. He also traveled further east to Venice before returning to the north of France, where he painted at Dieppe, Fécamp, Le Havre, and in surrounding countries. After his wife's passing in 1889, he found solace in traveling and painting. Sensing his impending death, Boudin returned to Deauville, next to the sea, in 1898, where he passed away on August 8th of that same year.