Petticoats on the Beach (recto); Breton Women on the Beach (verso)

Art Historical Context

Eugène Louis Boudin’s *Petticoats on the* (recto) and *Breton Women on the* (verso), created between 1865 and 1870, capture the breezy charm of coastal life in Brittany, France. On the recto, delicate watercolor and graphite depict abandonedticoats fluttering on the, evoking the transient of seaside leisure. The, rendered solely in graphite, shows women in traditional Breton attire strolling along the shore, their figures rendered with quick, expressive lines that suggest movement and wind-swept energy. This intimate double-sided sheet, measuring just 12.9 × 22.7 cm, exemplifies Boudin’s sketchbooks from his beach expeditions. A precursor to Impressionism, Boudin championed *plein air* painting, working directly from nature to capture atmospheric effects. His watercolors, prized for their luminosity and fluidity, influenced artists like Monet, who studied under him. Here, the off-white wove paper serves as a luminous ground, enhancing the play of light on fabric and sea. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago’s Prints and Drawings department, this work highlights the 19th-century fascination with beaches as democratic spaces for fashion and relaxation, blending everyday observation with artistic innovation.