I’ve been to Honfleur umpteen times. Weekends, day trips, long trips, before baby, after baby. But, the focus had always been food. And rightly so.
This time, however, I visited the Musée Eugène Boudin in the heart of Honfleur. And OH my goodness! I can’t believe I waited this long!!!
The museum boasts of a selective collection of pre–Impressionist painting. Let me remind you here that Eugène Boudin is the forgotten, uncredited Father of Impressionism. The man who, they say, officially introduced the concept of painting outdoors, or en plain air, to capture light as it falls and flows.
An artist who needs to be given due credit. Somone we should be celebrating more of.
The birth of the Museum
Boudin and his friend Jean Archer had a shop in Le Havre, where they stocked stationery and framed pictures. A lot of their customers were full time artists – painters, writers, musicians.
They influenced Boudin to try his hand at painting. Later, through his shop and otherwise, he would meet Jean-François Millet, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Johan Jongkind, Alexandre Dubourg, Charles-François Daubigny, Constant Troyon, Isabey, Claude Monet and many such artists of the time.
Eventually, in their turn, Boudin and Alexandre Dubourg, his close friend and peer, both sons of Honfleur, encouraged younger artists (not necessarily age related) to showcase more of their works.
Thus was born this Musée Eugène Boudin.
Not just to spread the love of art but also to encourage artists to do more and to be seen more.
Cals, Jongkind, Monet, Courbet, Pécrus, Mozin and ofcourse Dubourg and Boudin are represented here.
Les régates à Anvers (Sailing race in Anvers) 1871
Coucher de Soleil à Villerville (Sunset at Villerville)
The Daubigny was donated by the James de Roany family in 2016. It was restored in 2019 FRAR Normandy ( Fonds Regional d’aide à la restauration).
Jeune paysanne au repos (Peasant girl taking a break)
The Bell tower of the Church of St. Catherine
The below painting Le Clocher de l’église Sainte-Catherine was donated to the museum in 1964 by Michel Monet – Claude Monet’s son. In 2013, they discovered that the painting was actually made by Eugène Boudin.
Honfleur lost an artwork by Monet but gained a Boudin instead!
Le retour du troupeau (The return of the Herd) 1899
André Hambourg captures the dancing boats, lanterns, flags, and the festive spirit of the evening at the Vieux Bassin (old port) in Honfleur (below).
Soir de fete, les lampions (Festive night, lanterns) 1961
Getting there
Address: Rue de l’Homme de Bois, 14600 Honfleur
The Eugène-Boudin Museum is located at the top of Rue de l’Homme de Bois, on the left, near the small Erik Satie square.
Since Rue de l’Homme de Bois is fully paved, access for people with reduced mobility (PRM) is difficult. Electric wheelchairs cannot enter the museum due to limited space in the public elevator.
By car
A13 motorway, exit at Beuzeville (from Paris) or Pont-l’Évêque (from Caen). A29 motorway, exit at Honfleur. Departmental roads D675 and D579.
By train:
From Paris (Saint-Lazare station), connect to Honfleur from Deauville/Trouville, Lisieux, or Pont-l’Évêque stations using the Bus Verts du Calvados, lines 20 and 50.
By plane:
Deauville Saint-Gatien Airport (10 km away).
By ferry:
Caen-Ouistreham to Portsmouth, or Le Havre to Portsmouth.
By bus (Bus Verts du Calvados):
Le Havre-Honfleur route via the Normandie Bridge. Express lines: Caen-Deauville-Honfleur (line 20) and Lisieux-Honfleur (line 50).