Oil / Canvas: 54 x 74,3 cm
Throughout the 1870s, Eugène Boudin frequently traveled to coastal towns and cities in northern France, the Netherlands and Belgium, depicting the lively ports and beaches of this area, which teemed with commerce and leisure. Boudin was a devotee to painting en plein air, which helped him capture the atmospheric essence of a scene. In Anvers, gros temps sur l'Escaut, Boudin employs a low horizon line, allowing the composition to be dominated by the dramatic sky, exemplary of Boudin's confident command of brushwork and tonal exploration. Boudin masterfully suggests the element of wind through the choppy waters and flapping Belgian flag.
Boudin was born at Honfleur, the son of a ship's captain. It is therefore not surprising that the sea, the shores and beaches with all the atmospheric changes, became his lifelong artistic subject. The centre of his early activities was Le Havre where he opened a framing shop, visited by painters, including Jean-Francois Millet, who encouraged him to take up painting. Boudin visited Paris, where he studied at the Louvre and joined the artist colony in Montmartre. A grant made it possible for him to study the Dutch and Flemish masters in Belgium. Boudin was largely self-taught and had a preference for working directly from nature. Together with Jongkind he was one of the first impressionist and also one of the first French painters to paint “en plein-air” (outside). About 1856 Boudin met Claude Monet and introduced him to outdoor painting. The two worked together in the later 1860s. It was a lifelong friendship. Boudin's growing reputation enabled him to travel extensively in the 1870s. He visited Belgium, the Netherlands, and southern France, and from 1892 to 1895 made regular trips to Venice
Throughout the 1870s, Eugène Boudin frequently traveled to coastal towns and cities in northern France, the Netherlands and Belgium, depicting the lively ports and beaches of this area, which teemed with commerce and leisure. Boudin was a devotee to painting en plein air, which helped him capture the atmospheric essence of a scene. In Anvers, gros temps sur l'Escaut, Boudin employs a low horizon line, allowing the composition to be dominated by the dramatic sky, exemplary of Boudin's confident command of brushwork and tonal exploration. Boudin masterfully suggests the element of wind through the choppy waters and flapping Belgian flag.
Recognized extensively for their longstanding leadership and generosity, Joe and Teresa Long have been pillars of their community in Austin, Texas. With an acute awareness that education is essential to unlocking potential, Mr. and Mrs. Long have spent the past three decades shaping the educational landscape of their native Texas through their extraordinary generosity. Together, the couple created The Long Foundation in 1999 to promote programs that provide opportunities for young Texans to improve their economic and social potential, as well as that of their communities. Alongside education, the couple is fiercely dedicated to improving healthcare access and offerings in their community. The Longs have donated over $60 million to UT Health, allowing for more than 290 scholarships and empowered excellence in faculty recruitment. Beyond education and healthcare, Mr. and Mrs. Long are loyal patrons of the arts, with their support of cultural initiatives and institutions reflecting a sincere appreciation for how the arts can enrich lives. The Longs became the lead donors for the renovation of Austin’s downtown auditorium, known today as the Joe R. and Teresa L. Long Center for the Performing Arts, which gives a home to the city’s major music ensembles, opera company and theater troupe. The couple has also channeled their love of the arts in building a personal collection of remarkable Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works. Connoisseurs of collecting for more than five decades, Mr. and Mrs. Long have traveled the world assembling a superb collection of nineteenth and twentieth century portraiture, landscape and genre paintings from European, American and Latin American artists, which they bring home to Austin.