Washerwoman near Trouville

Eugène Boudin

National Gallery of Art

The painting features a sandy shore and a calm sea with sailing boats in the distance. At the bottom of the painting, people sit on the sand by the water. Brown rocks are interspersed with the tan sand shore, which takes up the bottom edge of the painting and curves up to the right side. On the blue water beyond the shore, sailboats dot the low horizon. Those closer to us are more distinct, while some in the distance are barely visible. On the left side of the painting, another stretch of tan sands juts into the water, and a sailboat sits on it, leaning to one side. The sky occupies the top half of the image, and it is filled with billowy white clouds. The brushstrokes in the painting are visible, especially those in the sand and water.