Beach Scene (2)

Painted in 1870, this breezy scene by Eugène Boudin drops us onto a French beach where the fashionable set has come to take in the sea air. Women in wide crinoline dresses cluster together beneath parasols, some perched on chairs that have been hauled straight onto the sand. Others sit atop horses or stand chatting in little groups, while a small dog trots along the foreground as if it owns the place. Boudin adored these seaside gatherings at resorts like Trouville and Deauville, popular escapes for wealthy city folk of his time.

More than half the canvas is handed over to the sky, and that was a deliberate choice. Boudin once declared that the sky was the real subject of his paintings, and here the soft grey clouds stretch out above the crowd, making the figures below feel tiny by comparison. His talent for capturing light and open air had a lasting effect, most famously on a young Claude Monet, whom he encouraged to paint outdoors. Monet later said Boudin was the one who opened his eyes to the possibilities of working from nature.

Get close to the surface and the illusion falls apart a bit. Faces are barely more than smudges, and the colorful dresses are simply quick dabs of red, yellow, and white. Back away a few steps, though, and everything snaps into focus, giving us a relaxed glimpse of leisure by the water that has held its freshness for over 150 years.