By the mid-nineteenth century, seaside resorts such as Trouville were becoming increasingly popular, with many people who wished to escape from the hustle and bustle of the large claustrophobic cities. The casual stroll along the beach of the Empress and her entourage on a bright blustery sunny morning is typical of this freedom. One can almost smell and feel the stiff sea breeze where everything flutters vibrantly under the changing skies, beside the waters of the channel. We must try to imagine the artist, Eugene Boudin, sitting unobtrusively on his little folding stool in a secluded spot in front of his easel and quickly jotting down this fleeting event with rapid dots of coloured pigment; it was these informal scenes and seascapes which earned Boudin his recognition at the Salon in 1863 as a highly skilled out-of-doors, or, as the French say 'en plein air', artist.