작품 상세

EUGÈNE BOUDIN , HONFLEUR, 1824 – DEAUVILLE, 1898 Fair in Brittany Oil on panel 29.8 x 41 cm Everything here is skilfully orchestrated. Perfectly centred, the composition is constructed according to the rules of perspective where the vanishing lines, the alignment of the houses on the left, the foliage and the shade of the trees on the right, converge towards the central scene: a cattle fair. Providing the subject with a privileged space, Eugène Boudin places it at a distance from our gaze, offering it a clear foreground. Cattle and figures are concentrated in a frieze that forms the horizon line. On the left, the cows are wisely lined up, surrounded by men who are negotiating, while on the right, groups of women are conversing in a concentrated group. Their presence can be recognised by the white spots on their headdresses that dot the scene. For here the painter's touch is twirling, precise but light. Thus the rigour of the construction fades under the strokes of a brush that scatters its touches of colour. The sky is given a masterly place, as always in Boudin's work, and the pebbled clouds give it rhythm and structure, contributing to the perspectival effect. In the centre, emerging from the mass, two women in traditional dress advance towards the spectator; at their side, a beautiful Armorican cow, as Boudin likes to paint them, and her farmer who turns his back to us. These four silhouettes sum up the spirit of the painting and express its mood and tones. In 1859, he exhibited his first painting at the Salon where he was noticed by Baudelaire. He met Courbet, Jongkind and then Monet, whom he introduced to plein-air painting. As he gained notoriety, he devoted himself to more mundane subjects, accompanying the birth of the first seaside resorts, Deauville, Trouville but also Juan-les-Pins. In 1874, he took part in the first Impressionist exhibition at Nadar's. Beyond the scenes of daily life, sketched with vivacity and even picturesqueness, his landscapes are organised with precision according to the laws of perspective and according to a framing influenced by the nascent photography. The characters, secondary or even anecdotal, are set in a perspectival space where the eye is invited to travel over vast expanses. But it is above all his treatment of light that will earn him the recognition of his peers, particularly for his skies. Corot, his elder, gave him the laudatory title of 'king of the skies', while Baudelaire awarded him the title of 'painter of meteorological beauties'. Provenance: François Jacques Fratin, Levallois-Perret; sale, Me Escribe, Paris, 23 May 1873, lot 3. Durant Collection, Paris (acquired during this sale). Jules Strauss, Paris; his sale, Me Chevallier, Paris, 3 May 1902, lot 5 (illustrated). Madame Adolphe Friedmann, Paris (acquired during this sale). Then by descent to the present owner. R. Schmit, Eugène Boudin, Paris, 1973, vol. I, p. 140, no. 383 (illustrated). Paris, Galerie Bernheim-Jeune & Fils, Eugène Boudin Exhibition, November 1900, no. 94 (titled 'Un marché en Bretagne'). Signatur: E. Boudin (lower right)