Four Ladies in Crinolines Walking at Trouville
1865
Medium
watercolor over graphite on laid paper
Dimensions
overall: 12.1 x 23.8 cm (4 3/4 x 9 3/8 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon
Accession Number
1985.64.80
Art Historical Context
In the sunlit elegance of 1865, Eugène Boudin captures quintessential moment of Second Empire leisure in *Four Ladies in Crinol Walking at Trouville*.in, a pioneering French artist and mentor to Claude Monet, was renowned for his luminous beach scenes along Normandy's coast. Trouville, a chic seaside resort popular with Parisian elites, serves as the backdrop here, where four fashionable women stroll in their voluminous crinolines—bell-shaped hoop skirts that defined mid-19th-century women's fashion, symbolizing both opulence and social display. Rendered in watercolor over graphite on laid pa...
About the Artist
Eugène Boudin · 1824–1898
Eugène Louis Boudin was born on July 12, 1824, in Honfleur, Normandy, the son of a harbor pilot. When his family relocated to Le Havre, his father opened a stationery and picture-framing shop, and it was there that the young Boudin first encountered working artists. Artists such as Constant Troyon and Jean-François Millet recognized his talent and urged him toward a career in art. In 1850, a munic...