Berck, The Departure of the Boats

Eugène Boudin loved the sea and the sky above it, and this painting from 1875 shows exactly why. We see a small fleet of fishing boats setting out from Berck, a coastal town in northern France, their reddish-brown sails catching the wind as they push through choppy waves. The water churns with white foam in the foreground, and the boats lean slightly as they head toward open water. It feels like a real moment, captured quickly, as if Boudin stood on the shore and painted what he saw that day.

Boudin is often called a forerunner of Impressionism, and he had a big influence on the young Claude Monet, encouraging him to paint outdoors. You can see that fresh, on-the-spot energy here. But notice how much of the canvas is given to the sky. Boudin was nicknamed the "king of skies" by the painter Camille Corot, and clouds were his great passion. The soft, shifting grays and whites overhead take up most of the picture, making the boats below feel small against the vast weather. It is a simple scene, honest and unfussy, but it captures the everyday life of working fishermen and the changing mood of the coast.