Rotterdam, Le Pont de la Bourse

A calm day in Rotterdam comes to life in this 1876 harbor view by Eugène Boudin. Fishing boats sit still on the quiet water, their tall masts strung with fluttering flags, while the stone Bourse bridge stretches across the middle distance. Behind it rise the rooftops of the Dutch city, with a church spire reaching up into a wide, cloudy sky. Boudin was not after drama here. He simply enjoyed painting ordinary places going about their business, and this everyday scene shows that quiet pleasure clearly.

Boudin earned the nickname "king of skies," and it is easy to understand why when nearly half of this canvas is filled with soft grey clouds that spill their reflections onto the water below. He spent much of his life along the coasts of France and beyond, chasing the way light and weather shifted from moment to moment. His work helped pave the way for Impressionism, and he even took a young Claude Monet under his wing, urging him to set up his easel outdoors and paint straight from nature. That love of open air and changing skies lives on in scenes like this one.