Boats near Shore of Normandy

Boats near Shore of Normandy from 1823 is an early work by Richard Parkes Bonington, painted when the young English artist was studying in France under Baron Gros and Louis Francia. Bonington's fresh, luminous approach to marine and coastal subjects would profoundly influence French Romantic painting, particularly the work of Delacroix. Characteristic of the artist's mature approach, the work displays luminous, atmospheric color applied with the freshness of watercolor in oil painting, alla prima technique that captured the transience of light on water and architecture.

The sparkling treatment of light on water and the spontaneous brushwork demonstrate Bonington's precocious mastery of plein-air observation, capturing atmospheric effects with remarkable directness.