Oil painting, 'Boats by the Beach', Charles Hoguet, German school, ca. 1845-1868

Boats drawn up on a beach, their sails unfurled, with cliffs in the background at right under a large cloudy sky.

Bequeathed by Rev. Chauncey Hare Townshend

Bequeathed by Rev. Chauncey Hare Townshend, 1868.

Historical significance: Hoguet was famous for his landscape and marine paintings such as the present one. It shows boats drawn up on a beach, their sails unfurled, with cliffs in the background at right under a large cloudy sky. Two figures are digging in the sand while another boat in full sail is in the background.
Characteristic of the artist's technique is the cool, almost uniform palette is enlivened by patches of light and the broad brushwork.
The technique and palette were probably influenced by the French painter Isabey to whom Hoguet was apprentice for some time in Paris. This composition is also reminiscent of the 17th-century Dutch imagery, which aroused a new interest in Realist painters. Here the painting is particularly close to such artist as Jan van Goyen (1596-1656), who produced similar seascapes in the same tonalities and broad technique.

Charles Hoguet (1821-1870) was born in Berlin to French parents. He studied first with the seascape painter Wilhelm August Christian Leopold Krause (1802-1864) and later completed his apprenticeship in Paris with Eugène Ciceri (1813–90). He was also later on an apprentice with Eugène Isabey (1803–86) who was also teaching at the same time Eduard Hildebrandt (1817-1868). He is famous for his still lifes, marine paintings and landscapes. He won medals in Paris in 1848 and 1859.

This painting is a fine example of Hoguet seascape paintings dominated by a cool and almost monochrome palette. The composition and palette is slightly reminiscent of Isabey’s technique, but also recall the 17th-century Dutch imagery which aroused a new interest among Realist painters of the 19th century. This type of seascapes may also be based on memories from his visit to Holland.

1572-1869