Cleveland Museum of Art

Boats at Berck-sur-Mer

Édouard Manet

Date

1873

Medium

oil on fabric

Culture

France, 19th century

Department

Modern European Painting and Sculpture

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Ever since his childhood, Manet spent almost every summer at the seashore. At age 16, after failing the entrance exam for the naval academy, he embarked as an apprentice on a training ship, traveling as far away as Rio de Janeiro. The sea would always capture his imagination, and in 1864 he painted several seascapes. This painting was made nearly ten years later, while the artist was staying in Berck-sur-Mer, near Boulogne. Exploring light and movement, he rapidly sketched the sails of the countless ships that dance in the wind on blue-green waves highlighted with white. Manet even added a slight curve to the horizon, thus conveying an impression of infinite space, despite the painting's small size.

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