The artwork in question is “Rouen, View from the Queen’s Way,” a cityscape oil painting by the French artist Eugene Boudin, dated 1895. Executed during the Impressionist movement, the piece depicts a vibrant scene of the city of Rouen in France and is currently housed within a private collection.
The painting captures a picturesque view of the city as seen from the vantage point known as the Queen’s Way. Boudin’s brushwork is loose and impressionistic, imbuing the scene with a feeling of spontaneity and the fleeting impressions of light and color characteristic of the Impressionist style. The foreground features a riverbank where small figures can be observed engaging in various activities alongside moored boats, while the middle distance is dominated by the expansiveness of the river reflecting the sky. In the background, the city is represented by the varied silhouettes of buildings, among which prominent church spires rise towards the cloudy sky, adding a sense of verticality to the horizontally-oriented landscape. Boudin’s use of color and light subtly articulates the atmosphere of the day, conveying the ambience of the urban environment and the tranquility of the waterside setting.
