Boats at Berck-sur-Mer
Medium
oil on fabric
Dimensions
unframed: 34 × 55.8 cm · framed: 52.5 × 74 × 7 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Modern European Painting and Sculpture
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1940.534
Tags
About this artwork
Ever since his childhood, Manet spent almost every summer at the seashore. At age 16, after failing the entrance exam for the naval academy, he embarked as an apprentice on a training ship, traveling as far away as Rio de Janeiro. The sea would always capture his imagination, and in 1864 he painted several seascapes. This painting was made nearly ten years later, while the artist was staying in Berck-sur-Mer, near Boulogne. Exploring light and movement, he rapidly sketched the sails of the count...