Women Fishing for Shrimp at Kerhor 1880

Eugène Boudin painted "Women Fishing for Shrimp at Kerhor" with oil on canvas, using techniques that were rapidly evolving at the time. Boudin was one of the first French artists to paint ‘en plein air’ – that is, in the open air, directly in front of the motif. Note how he has applied the paint in strokes that evoke atmosphere, light, and movement. The materiality here is crucial: the scene’s breezy, ephemeral quality is conveyed directly by the artist’s handling of the oil paint, and the rough weave of the canvas. In Boudin’s time, the north coast of France was becoming a destination for fashionable society. The women depicted here are clearly bourgeois, not working class. This painting reflects new patterns of leisure and consumption emerging in 19th century France. Ultimately, appreciating how Boudin embraced painting outside and vividly captured the essence of a specific moment, allows us to look beyond mere representation, and consider the broader social and economic transformations that influenced both the artist and his subjects.