On the Beach

Eugène Boudin

National Gallery of Art

This painting shows a beach scene with people gathered on the sandy shore, facing away from us, looking towards the water. The horizon is in the center of the image, with the pale green-blue sea meeting the slightly darker blue sky. A white sailboat is visible in the distance. Closer to us, people are seen sitting or standing on the tan sand, some under a striped red-and-white canopy or sitting on brown chairs. The people are depicted with minimal detail, composed of streaks of paint that suggest dresses in shades of gray, white, yellow, and black, and hats in shades of black, white, yellow, and red. They appear to be mostly women and children with light skin. The brushwork is loose and visible, with thick strokes of different colors overlapping and blending, giving the scene a hazy and blurred appearance. The sand contains short horizontal streaks of red, brown, tan, and yellow, while the sky and sea have many shades of blue, gray, and white. A line of text has been written in black at the bottom of the painting.