Rouen, View over the River Seine 1895

Eugène Boudin created this oil on canvas painting, Rouen, View over the River Seine, in 1895. Boudin belonged to a generation of French landscape painters who saw the industrialized landscape as a source of beauty rather than ugliness. Here, we see the busy port of Rouen, dominated by the cathedral’s Gothic spire and the plumes of smoke from factories. A waterway teaming with leisure boats and barges is framed by verdant embankments dotted with resting figures. This image reflects the optimism of the Belle Époque, an era of peace and prosperity in France, where industrialization was viewed as progress. Boudin exhibited alongside the Impressionists and, while his style is more traditional, he shared their interest in capturing the fleeting effects of light and atmosphere. Historians can use sources like exhibition reviews, sales records, and personal letters to reconstruct the networks that sustained artists like Boudin, and to better understand the social and cultural values that shaped the art of their time.