Trouville, the Jettys, Low Tide 1894

Eugène Boudin painted "Trouville, the Jettys, Low Tide" with oil on canvas. This is most likely from 1894, as it is signed and dated in the lower left corner. Boudin dedicated his artistic output to seascapes of the coast of France. He was not alone. The mid-19th century saw a vogue for seascapes, born out of the fashion for new seaside resorts. The paintings served as advertisements for the resorts but also played on a sense of national pride, and a reminder of the natural resources that were essential to the French economy and military power. The ports, beaches and docks were therefore of huge importance in French culture. Like many seascapes, the sky dominates, and is rendered with the quick, loose brushstrokes that would soon be taken up by Impressionism. We know this artwork is in a private collection, but tracing the ownership of artworks can reveal the social networks in which such images circulated.