At the end of his life, Monet wrote: "I owe everything to Boudin". For the first time since 1899, a Parisian institution is organising a retrospective exhibition of paintings, pastels and watercolours by this pioneer of Impressionism. This unique event is possible thanks to exceptional loans from the largest American museums (National Gallery in Washington, Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, etc.).

Eugène Boudin, who was born in Honfleur in 1824 and died in Deauville in 1898, is most known for his depictions of the high society of the Second Empire on the beaches of Normandy. If he was the inventor of this genre, he was also a sharp observer of the metamorphoses of the sky. As one of the first, Baudelaire commented on these "meteorological beauties", which gave rise to the "series" concept, popularised by Monet.

Nicknamed "King of the skies" by Corot, Boudin travelled across Europe, from Rotterdam to Venice, through Antwerp, Dunkirk, Berck, Brittany, Bordeaux and the Côte d'Azur. In brilliant studies, he captured the light which was particular to each place. Monet admits: "I found that I was fascinated by his sketches, which were the product of that very instant".

Boudin also created ambitious paintings destined for the Salon. He maintained the sketch style in his paintings, thus producing an impression of the open-air which was so different to his contemporaries' taste for "finished work". Despite their quality, many of these prestigious works have not been shown on this side of the Atlantic since 1860-1880. This will therefore be a real discovery for the French general public.