Top Impressionist Paintings

Eugène Boudin

Eugène Boudin (1824-1898) was a precursor of Impressionism. He painted along the Normandy coast and is best known for luminous views of fashionable resorts like Trouville. He befriended the teen-aged Claude Monet in their hometown of Le Havre and introduced him to painting directly from nature. Monet later recalled, "Boudin, with untiring kindness, undertook my education. My eyes were finally opened and I really understood nature; I learned at the same time to love it." Boudin regularly exhibited at the Salon and was included in the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874. Despite painting outdoors, Boudin never went as far as the Impressionists in analytical use of color and broken brushwork.