Herd Drinking

A herd of cattle spreads out along the shore of a wide pool in this 1880 painting by Eugène Boudin. Some cows graze on the muddy green field, while others step right into the shallow water for a drink, their reddish-brown and white coats reflected in the calm surface. Simple wooden fence posts mark the edge of the pasture, and the whole scene feels like an ordinary afternoon in the French countryside. What really pulls your eye upward is the sky, which takes up nearly half the canvas and churns with heavy gray and white clouds.

Boudin spent much of his life painting along the coast of Normandy, and he had a special talent for capturing weather and light. His skies were so admired that the painter Camille Corot nicknamed him the "king of skies." Boudin also played a quiet but important part in art history, since he encouraged a young Claude Monet to paint outdoors, helping spark the Impressionist movement. This picture belongs to his more down-to-earth work, trading drama for a plain honest moment. The soft brushwork and muted colors give it a peaceful, slightly wistful feeling, as if a storm might roll in at any minute.