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On the Beach, Sunset, 1865
Eugène Boudin (French, 1824–1898)
Oil on wood; 15 x 23 in. (38.1 x 58.4 cm)
The Walter H. and Leonore Annenberg Collection, Bequest of Walter H. Annenberg, 2002 (2003.20.2)

In 1865, Boudin painted on the beach of Trouville, then a popular seaside resort frequented by Empress Eugénie and her court. For the next three decades, Boudin painted scenes of such fashionable beaches with an eye to their commercial viability. As he observed in 1863, "They love my little ladies on the beach, and some people say that there's a thread of gold to exploit there." The handling of the sunset sky, which dominates the composition, reveals Boudin's interest in fleeting atmospheric effects. It was Boudin who, in the late 1850s, encouraged the young Claude Monet to paint outdoors.


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    On the Beach, Sunset, 1865
    Eugène Boudin (French, 1824–1898)
    Oil on wood; 15 x 23 in. (38.1 x 58.4 cm)
    The Walter H. and Leonore Annenberg Collection, Bequest of Walter H. Annenberg, 2002 (2003.20.2)