Eugene BOUDIN (1824-1898), Laundresses, 1889

oil, board; 28 x 31 cm;
Signed and dated l. d.: E. Boudin. 89.
State of preservation: board vertically cracked, reinforced with cross parquet; small losses of paint rubbing.

Painting entered in the register of monuments by the Conservator of Monuments of the City of Warsaw, Department of Culture and the Arts, Office of the City of Warsaw dated May 30, L.dz.KL.
VIII/2351/958/84.

Eugene Boudin - French painter, precursor of Impressionism and one of the first artists to consistently paint outdoors. Born in Honfleur, Normandy, he remained associated throughout his life with the landscape of the northern French coast, especially the area around Trouville and Deauville.
Boudin began his career as a stationery and frame salesman before devoting himself to painting. He received early support from Jean-François Millet and Thomas Couture, among others. Crucial was his friendship with the young Claude Monet, whom he encouraged to work in the open air. Years later, Monet called Boudin his first teacher and emphasized his influence on his own painterly pursuits.
Boudin's work focuses on landscape, harbor scenes and depictions of elegant society on the beaches of Normandy. The artist rendered the variation of sky, light and atmosphere with extraordinary sensitivity - these motifs became the foundation of later Impressionism. His free, sketchy brushstrokes and bright color palette foreshadowed the aesthetics developed by artists associated with the Impressionist movement.
Boudin exhibited regularly at the Paris Salon, and in 1874 took part in the first Impressionist exhibition at Nadar's studio. Although stylistically he remained more moderate than younger artists, his historical significance is undeniable - he is sometimes referred to as the "king of the skies" ("le roi des ciels") because of his masterful studies of clouds and atmospheric effects.
Today, the artist's works are in major museum collections, including the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the National Gallery of Art in Washington.
Eugene Boudin's work provides an important link between the realism of the Barbizon school and mature Impressionism, making him one of the key figures of French painting in the second half of the 19th century.