Conversation on the Beach
1865
graphite
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
1865
graphite
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
You see two women in long dresses and bonnets strolling along a sandy beach, parasols tilted against the light. Boudin painted this in 1865, right when he was teaching a young Claude Monet how to work outdoors. The loose, quick strokes of watercolor let him catch the salty breeze and shifting light before they changed. He didn’t smooth out the edges—you can still see the pencil lines underneath, like a sketch that forgot to stop. If you like this light, breezy feel, look up the movement: Impressionism.
