By providing the young-self-taught painter, Boudin, with a large grant so that he could train alongside the Parisian masters, the municipality of Le Havre played a leading role in the career of this artist who became the “king of skies”. The fact that the inhabitants of Le Havre had more scorn for him than their elders did not prevent Boudin from returning tirelessly to Le Havre to find the special silvery light which reflected great sailing boats in the water of the quaysides.
