Eugène Boudin was born on the Normandy coast, whose harbours and skies would remain central to his work. After early years spent between Le Havre and Paris, he developed a practice rooted in painting or sketching outdoors to follow the changing effects of light over sea and shore. Admired by Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot as the “king of skies”, Boudin played an essential role in the emergence of Impressionism and encouraged the young Claude Monet to paint from nature.

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Our sheet shows two sailboats on calm water, drawn with a light, supple hand on blue paper. Around the boats, Boudin suggests the sky, horizon, and light reflections on the water with quick but detailed strokes of charcoal.

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The annotations visible on the sheet indicate its preparatory function, linking the drawing to a painting or coloured composition. Boudin sets down the essential structure of the scene: the relation between the two boats, the rhythm of the sails, the stillness of the water, and the expanse of sky above. The result has the freshness of a working study, while already containing the poetry of his coastal subjects.

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