Deauville, the Dunes 1891

Eugène Boudin painted 'Deauville, the Dunes' with oil on canvas, a common practice at the time, yet his approach was anything but conventional. Boudin captured the fleeting moments of everyday life, the bourgeoisie at leisure on the Normandy coast. But he also captured the weather. Look closely, and you'll notice how Boudin used thin washes of color and brisk brushstrokes. This technique allows him to evoke the atmosphere of the scene. The grey sky presses down on the landscape. Boudin was celebrated for his skies. He called them his 'models'. The rapid execution suggests a dialogue between the artist and the elements, as the painting had to be finished before the weather changed. Boudin was a crucial link between the earlier Barbizon School of landscape painting, and the later Impressionists. By focusing on the immediacy of experience, and by using painting as a direct record, Boudin invites us to consider the value of those things that are often deemed marginal or fleeting. He asks us to engage with the world, to pause, and to really see what’s around us.