Musée Eugène Boudin

The Musee Eugene Boudin is a pretty large museum for such a small town. I was expecting something on the scale of the Delacroix or Moreau museums in Paris: the artist’s house made into a museum with a peak into the artist’s home décor and what he collected along with some pieces by the artist and a look at his studio. (The Moreau Museum is a gem in this regard and quite large itself.) The Boudin Museum is three floors of exhibition space, much of it devoted to seascapes with ships and shipwrecks. On the day of my visit there was also an interesting exhibition by an artist who depicted the emotional loss and the funeral rites of sailors lost at sea.
Another gallery that didn’t take more than five minutes to peruse and I would have skipped but for Rick Steves’ explanation of it was devoted to the local costumes worn by the people of Normandy and Brittany. In particular the bonnets and head scarves worn by the women identified what village they came from. Anyone who’s ever seen a period drama or some of Gaugin’s paintings of the Breton women will find these bonnets somewhat familiar. Who knew that they signified so much?
The best part of the museum though was the gallery with paintings of Honfleur with works by other artists as well as native son Boudin. Boudin was an influence on the young Monet and then later learned impressionist techniques from the younger artist. The museum shows Boudin’s evolution as an artist and has a couple of pieces by Monet and other artists who flocked to the coast to paint in plein air. It’s certainly fascinating to see how the look of the village, its main church, and the boat basin have been maintained over so many decades.