- 132
Eugène Boudin
Description
- Eugène Louis Boudin
- Trouville, marée basse
- Signed E. Boudin. (lower left)
- Oil on canvas
- 14 3/8 by 22 3/4 in.
- 36.5 by 57.8 cm
Provenance
E. Glyn Osler, K.C., Toronto (acquired at the above sale)
Thence by descent
Literature
Condition
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
Depicting the port of Trouville-sur-Mer, in Seine-Maritime in Upper Normandy, the present work is a stunning and graceful testament to Boudin’s favorite subject and to his mature style. Following the Franco-Prussian war of 1870, there was a struggle to understand and define the new national identity within France, and this struggle very much informed Boudin’s artistic pursuits. The country had lost the territories of Alsace and parts of Lorraine to the German Empire, significantly altering the country’s borders, topography and culture, and at this time a universal education system inclusive of French geography was established, forcing the citizenry to grapple with the essential question of what it meant to be French. Landscape painting within France was elevated to a status of even greater importance, and indeed the many seascapes and harbor scenes painted by Boudin in the final decades of the nineteenth century may be viewed as an exploration of this concern. Depicting the delineation between land and sea, coastal imagery was of great import not only for what it allowed Boudin to achieve aesthetically, in exploring and rendering myriad and evolving atmospheric conditions, but also as a visual representation of France’s geographical boundaries at a time when so many of its people felt themselves unmoored.