EDOUARD MANET

This image of the steam ferry that carried passengers from Boulogne to Folkestone, on the Channel coast in England, is one of two paintings that Manet made of the subject. The painting conveys the bustle and excitement of international travel in the early days of the steamboat's operation. Manet employed thick and sometimes choppy brushstrokes to provide a sense of the enormous visual interest the scene held for him. His signature on this painting indicates that he considered it complete, despite its lack of incidental detail.