Deauville, the Terrasse

Fashionable visitors gather along a sun-washed terrace at Deauville in this 1880 scene by Eugène Boudin. Women in long dresses and wide hats stroll near the beach, a horse-drawn carriage stands ready, and a couple of small dogs weave through the crowd. Buildings crowd the left edge of the canvas while open fields and gentle hills stretch away to the right. Above it all floats a soft, pale sky that fills more than half the painting, giving the whole scene a light and airy feel.

Boudin knew skies better than almost anyone of his time, so much so that the older painter Camille Corot called him "the king of skies." He spent his life along the Normandy coast, painting harbors, beaches, and the simple pleasures of resort life. His quick, breezy brushwork caught the shifting light of the sea air, and he passed this love of outdoor painting on to a young Claude Monet. Many people think of him as a stepping stone between the older landscape tradition and the Impressionists who came next.

The appeal of this small work lies in how modest it is. No big story unfolds, just a pleasant afternoon by the water with people out enjoying the fresh air. It carries the quiet charm of an ordinary day at the seaside, held onto for well over a hundred years.