Look Up!

"Honfleur"
Eugene Boudin

Lately the weather has provided my area with lots of interesting clouds (and summer thunderstorms). Watching the shifting clouds, I thought it would be timely to write about skyscapes. In the painting world, several artists are known for their skyscapes. The one who is first in my mind is the French painter Eugene Boudin. He was called "King of the Skies" by none other than the great Camille Corot.  Boudin lived in Normandy, and if you have been there you know that the skies are very active. No shortage of cloud formations!

"Grand Ciel"
Oil on Wood, 26,8 cm x 21. 8 cm
Eugene Boudin, c. 1888-95

Boudin's paintings of skies range widely in approach. Some are highly finished and carefully rendered. Others are very gestural, almost unfinished. When painting skies, you have to move quickly, and often the rapidly executed, somewhat unfinished paintings of clouds are the most appealing to me.  As Nicolaides wrote in his seminal book on drawing, "The clouds

in the sky are practically all movement. They reflect the movement of the wind." Capturing movement is not easy, but I think Boudin's studies succeed. 

"Le Havre, Port"
Eugene Boudin, 1884

Boudin lived in the early days of Impressionism. In fact, it is said that he is the one who encouraged Monet as a young boy to take up landscape painting. He and Monet remained lifelong friends. Boudin's work was included in the first Impressionist exhibition in 1873, but he is not a painter whose name comes to the forefront when we think of the French Impressionists. I like to write about some of the lesser-knowns!

"Study of Clouds in a Blue Sky"
Oil on Wood, 37 cm x 46 cm
Eugene Boudin, c. 1885-95

Several years ago I visited the Eugene Boudin museum in Honfleur, France. It houses a number of wonderful examples of his work. If you are in Normandy, it's definitely worth a visit.  Meanwhile, you can enjoy more of his cloud studies here.