Coast of Brittany

1870

Eugène Boudin

Associated Names
Eugène Boudin

Artist, French, 1824 - 1898

The painting depicts a seascape. The horizon is visible in the bottom third of the composition, with several ships floating on the water, including a large sailing ship to the left of center. In the distance on the right, there is a tan and green coastline with hints of buildings that extend towards the center of the painting. Another distant coastline is visible on the left, painted in dark gray. The water closest to us is in greenish-blue tones with areas of white suggesting choppy waves, while a rocky outcrop in the bottom right corner is depicted in earthy brown hues. The sky takes up the upper two-thirds of the painting, and it is light blue and covered in thick white and gray clouds.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon

  • Dimensions

    overall: 47.3 x 66 cm (18 5/8 x 26 in.)
    framed: 65.1 x 83.8 cm (25 5/8 x 33 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1983.1.11

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Probably (sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 17 May 1873, no. 8).[1] (Arthur Tooth and Sons, London); sold December 1961 to Mr. Paul Mellon, Upperville, VA; gift 1983 to NGA.
[1] According to Robert Schmidt, Eugene Boudin, 1824-1898, Paris, 1973: no. 519.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1989

  • Impressionisti della National Gallery of Art di Washington, Ala Napoleonica e Museo Correr, Venice; Palazzo Reale, Milan, 1989, unnumbered catalogue, repro.

1990

  • Französische Impressionisten und ihre Wegbereiter aus der National Gallery of Art, Washington und dem Cincinnati Art Museum, Neue Pinakothek, Munich, 1990, no. 32, repro.

1991

  • The Rise of Landscape Painting in France: Corot to Monet, The Currier Gallery of Art, Manchester; IBM Museum of Science and Art, New York; Dallas Museum of Art; High Museum of Art, Atlanta, 1991-1992, 104-105, repro. 107, 226, no. 5.

1997

  • Extended loan for use by Secretary Andrew Cuomo, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington, D.C., 1997-2001.

2007

  • Eugène Boudin at the National Gallery of Art, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2007, no cat.

  • Eugene Boudin, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, 2007-2008, no cat.

2013

  • Intimate Impressionism from the National Gallery of Art, Museo dell'Ara Pacis Augustae, Rome (exhibition title in this venue: Impressionist Gems); California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco; McNay Art Museum, San Antonio; Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum, Tokyo, Seattle Art Museum, 2013-2016, pl. 12.

Bibliography

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 64, repro.

1990

  • Französische Impressionisten und ihre Wegbereiter aus der National Gallery of Art, Washington und dem Cincinnati Art Museum. Exh. cat. Neue Pinakothek, Munich, 1990: no. 32, repro.

1991

  • Champa, Kermit Swiler. The Rise of Landscape Painting in France: Corot to Monet. Exh. cat. The Currier Gallery of Art, Manchester, 1991: 104-105, repro. 107, 226, no. 5.

Inscriptions

lower right: E. Boudin 70

Wikidata ID

Q20188726

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