Quay at Villefranche 1892

Eugène Boudin painted this waterside scene with oil on canvas in the late 19th century. Boudin was a French landscape painter who depicted coastal scenes in northern France and, as we see here, in the south of France. During the nineteenth century, European artists flocked to the Mediterranean for its warmth and light, but also for its “picturesque” qualities. What stories do these kinds of images tell about wealth, leisure, and labor? Note the figures here who are likely engaged in fishing or other maritime industries. In Boudin’s composition the architecture and the sea seem to coexist on equal terms. It’s as if the city and the coast are locked in a dance. The hazy atmosphere blurs the separation between sea, sky, and land creating a dreamlike effect and evoking a sense of timelessness. What stories do you imagine are unfolding along this quay?