Venise, San Giorgio

The tall bell tower of St Mark's Square marks the heart of this Venetian scene, poking up above a jumble of pale rooftops and grand buildings along the waterfront. Eugène Boudin painted "Venise, San Giorgio" in 1895, and he clearly enjoyed the lively movement of the lagoon. Small gondolas drift across the water while people gather on the shore, including a couple sheltering under a red parasol. Everything feels loosely brushed and quick, as though Boudin wanted to catch the mood of the day rather than fuss over every window and wave.

Skies were Boudin's great passion, and this one proves it. Clouds fill nearly half the canvas in soft sweeps of grey, white, and blue, giving the whole picture a breezy, open feeling. The poet Charles Baudelaire once called him the "king of the skies," and a young Claude Monet, whom Boudin taught early on, credited him as a major influence. That teaching link makes Boudin something of a stepping stone toward Impressionism.

Made near the end of his career, this Venice view shows a painter still chasing fresh air and shifting light. Rather than a polished postcard, it reads like an honest glimpse of a working city, one that has drawn artists to its shimmering waters for hundreds of years.