Honfleur is a beautiful city, attracting artists with its magnificence. A closed harbor surrounded by houses where bright facades alternate with dark ones, sailboats moored to the shore – all this caused a picturesque interest in the works of the Impressionists.
Claude Monet is no exception, in his work there are paintings that depict the landscapes of Honfleur. “Boats in Port Honfleur” depicts sailboats and boats that found refuge in Honfleur harbor at the end of the working day. Their sails are set against the silhouette of a soft blue sky, which is covered with a light haze of rarely passing clouds. On some boats, the sails have already been raised, which means that the sailors have moored it to shore until the next day, others are still visible.
On one more raised sail, you can see the letters, which can be the name of the vessel or the name of its master. Light ripples of water created by the movement of sailing ships, erodes the reflection of the sails. The diagonal arrangement of the sails in the composition of the picture creates a feeling of smooth movement of ships. On the right side behind the boats there is a building with a smoking pipe. So we can assume that the landscape was painted in early autumn, when it begins to get colder in the evening. The coloring of the picture is interesting because the background is represented by cold shades, and boats and sails are in warm shades.
This contrast betrays the coloristic state of evening lighting. It is at sunset that the silhouette outlines become clearer for perception. This beautiful landscape looks realistic, despite the fact that it was painted in an impressionistic manner, which is indicated by the technique and the transfer of color and light in the picture. Looking at this landscape, you want to visit the wonderful beauty of the town of Honfleur, wander through its narrow streets, visit the harbor, which Monet captured in his paintings.
It would be interesting to compare the view of the modern city with the landscapes painted by the Impressionists. Understand what has changed over this period of time. And the main thing is to feel the spirit of creative impulse that inspired artists so much. It’s not just that Honfleur was called the “city of artists”.
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