Le Havre

Wind whips across the choppy waters off Le Havre in this 1880 seascape by Eugène Boudin. Tall ships push forward with their sails swollen, a rowboat packed with figures rides the swells, and a steamer trails a dark ribbon of smoke into the salty air. Yet the true showstopper stretches above it all. The sky fills more than half the canvas, a shifting mass of gray and white clouds broken by patches of pale blue, and it explains why Boudin was fondly called "the king of skies."

Much of Boudin's life was spent along the Normandy coast, where he grew skilled at catching the restless moods of sea and weather. He liked to paint outdoors directly from nature, an approach that was still unusual in his day. That practice left its mark on a younger companion he mentored, Claude Monet, and helped clear the path toward Impressionism, though Boudin's own brush stayed closer to older traditions.

The charm of this painting lies in its plainness. Boudin had no interest in making the sea dramatic or heroic. He gave us working boats on a blustery afternoon, the sort of scene most people would pass without a glance. That steady eye for the ordinary, and for the quiet beauty of clouds and water, is what makes his work reward a longer look.