Le Havre: The Outer Harbor at Sunset

After Marseille, Le Havre was the second-largest port in France. Eugène Boudin’s depiction of the modernized outer harbor does not disclose its economic significance. The sun, which is about to set, is positioned in the center of the picture. This frontality does not exist in the Dutch tradition of seascapes; it is modeled after Nicolas Poussin and William Turner. Boudin achieved a unified mood by allowing the sky to reflect in the water.