Chemin animé, bord de rivière 1887

Eugène Boudin painted this oil on canvas landscape, "Chemin animé, bord de rivière", capturing a slice of rural France. Boudin’s work is part of a shift in French painting, away from the formal poses of the studio and into the open air. Here, the artist gives us a country road, flanked by lush trees, with figures strolling in the distance. Boudin invites us to consider the changing social landscape. As the industrial revolution took hold, many people began moving from the countryside to urban centers. It is a moment of great social change, as Paris became the center of the art world, and traditional rural life started to decline. Art historians often use sources such as personal letters, exhibition reviews, and economic records to further enrich the history of art. By looking at these sorts of resources, we can understand the painting and how it reflected French society at the time.