1864
oil
canvas
From the collection of Art Institute of Chicago
Entrance to the Port of Honfleur is a 1864 oil by Johan Jongkind, a Impressionism work, held at Art Institute of Chicago.
You see a small harbor at dusk: masts, a lighthouse, and a few boats rocking in gray-blue water. Jongkind painted this quickly, outdoors, to catch the light before it changed. The brushstrokes are loose, almost like sketches—something new for the time. He left the edges soft, so the scene feels alive, not stiff. If you like this, look up the technique called *impasto*.
Along with Eugène-Louis Boudin (see his Approaching Storm ), Johan Barthold Jongkind brought a new spirit to the painting of coastal scenes. In content, palette, and technique, the works of these two older artists played an important part in the development of Impressionism. Claude Monet knew Boudin well and adopted him as his mentor, but he claimed that it was Jongkind who “educated his eye.” Though they painted their final compositions in the studio, both Boudin and Jongkind strove to retain the freshness of their plein-air (outdoor) sketches.
Jean Baptiste Théophile, also known as Théophile Bascle (died 1882); his estate sale, Hotel Drouot, Paris, April 12-14, 1883, lot 65 [according to Hebert sale catalogue]. Madame Hebert, Paris; her estate sale, Hotel Drouot, Paris, March 15, 1926, lot 45 (ill.), to Dru [according to Gazette de l'Hôtel Drouot]. Van Gelder, Paris, by 1930 to at least 1932 [lent to The Hague and Amsterdam exh.; see also Roger-Marx 1932]. John Dorus Van Itallie, New Jersey [information provided by Lock Galleries]. Lock Galleries, New York; sold to the Art Institute, 1968.
The Hague, Pulchri Studios and Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, Tentoonstelling Jongkind (1819-1891), March-April, 1930, cat. 23. New York, Carroll Carstairs Galleries, Johan-Barthold Jongkind: Painting and Watercolors, April 20-May 13, 1939, cat. 6. Tokyo, Seibu Museum, The Impressionist Tradition, Masterpieces from the Art Institute of Chicago, October 18–December 1, 1985, cat. 15; traveled to Kyoto, Fukuoka Art Museum, January 5–February 2, 1986; Kyoto, Municipal Museum of Art, March 4–April 13, 1986. Fort Worth, Tex., Kimbell Museum of Art, The Impressionists: Master Paintings from the Art…
Read the full account in the museum source.
Johan Barthold Jongkind (Dutch pronunciation: ; 3 June 1819 – 9 February 1891) was a Dutch painter and printmaker. He painted marine landscapes in a free manner and is regarded as a forerunner of impressionism.
See the richer artist page
