Villefranche, le port

“In the representation of harbor views [Boudin] has no rival. His skies are a joy to see and his vessels always painted with inimitable skill and perfect knowledge. In his pictures there is a [good] deal of movement. One feels the bustle of hurrying out of port, or into it. The vessels sway with wind and tide, and their rigging is drawn with fascinating truth and naiveté” (P.C. Sutton, Boudin: Impressionist Marine Paintings, exh. cat., Peabody Museum of Salem, 1991, p. 16). By the turn of the century, the artist’s sweeping coastal views were widely exhibited and receiving unanimous praise.
Boudin's oeuvre primarily depicts seascapes and coastal towns, paying homage to his father, a ship’s captain, and Boudin’s upbringing in Honfleur. The Normandy coast, with its ever-changing skies and ephemeral beams of light, informed the rich atmospheres that built Boudin’s reputation. The formidable landscapist Camille Corot crowned Boudin as “the king of skies,” a testament to his free brushwork and uninhibited observation of contemporary maritime life and its environs.
Boudin did not participate in the seven Impressionist exhibitions between 1874 and 1886. While many of his works shared Impressionist brushwork and color, his penchant for browns and varying shades of grey differed greatly from the Impressionist palette. While the Impressionists found their muses in Paris, Boudin remained faithful to the coasts of France that transfixed his spirit with their boats, sea merchants, ports and endless skies.