Fishing Boats, 1836. Eug?ne Isabey began his career assisting his father, the miniaturist J. B. Isabey, with illustrations for a travel book on Italy. In 1825, Isabey made a trip to England, where he was profoundly influenced by the latest trends in watercolour painting. On his return, he specialized in coastal scenes of Normandy in the north of France. Here, Isabey depicts the luminous atmospheric effects at the meeting of sea, shore, and sky with the consummate skill that earned him a reputation as one of the leading Romantic watercolourists.