Beaulieu, La baie de Fourmis

Painted in 1892, this quiet coastal view shows the Bay of Fourmis near Beaulieu-sur-Mer, a sunny spot along the French Riviera. Eugène Boudin filled nearly half the canvas with a soft blue sky, letting the light and air feel like the real subject. Below it, rocky cliffs tumble down toward a calm sea, a scattering of houses nestles into the green hillside, and a few small sailboats drift far out near the horizon. The whole thing has a relaxed, breezy mood, painted with loose and quick strokes that suggest an easy afternoon by the water.

Boudin spent most of his career along the beaches of Normandy in northern France, but he traveled south later in life to soak up the warmer Mediterranean light you see glowing here. He is often remembered as an early influence on Impressionism, partly because he encouraged a young Claude Monet to leave the studio and paint outdoors in the open air. His obsession with skies and shifting weather runs through much of his work, and this peaceful bay is a gentle example of that lifelong love for the atmosphere of the coast.