Monet/Boudin

The monographic exhibition Monet/Boudin offered visitors the first opportunity to discover the relations between the great Impressionist painter Claude Monet (Paris, 1840 – Giverny, 1926) and his master Eugène Boudin (Honfleur, 1824 – Deauville, 1898), a leading representative of French plein air painting of the mid-19th century. This joint presentation of their work shed light on Monet’s formative years while also offering a joint vision of the two artists’ careers and the origins of the Impressionist movement.

Curated by the museum's curator, Juan Ángel López-Manzanares, the exhibition brought together around 100 works by the two artists which revealed how Boudin’s early teaching was transformed by the end of his career into a profound admiration for his pupil’s artistic audacity, which he adopted himself on occasions. Among the two painters’ shared artistic interests, the exhibition emphasised themes of modern life, depicted in summer beach scenes at Trouville; changing effects of light, which is the subject of most of their pastels and oil paintings; and the semi-wild nature of the cliffs along the Brittany and Normandy coastlines.