Sunset at Scheveningen: A Fleet of Fishing Vessels at Anchor

Hendrik Willem Mesdag

National Gallery of Art

The painting depicts a seascape. The horizon is in the lower third of the composition, where the sky meets the calm sea. In front of it are multiple sailing ships floating on the water in the distance. Above the water, the sun is setting, and dark purple clouds cross the pale-blue sky. The sun casts pale yellow and orange light on the sky and sea, while there are cooler blues and muted grays in the water and shadows of clouds.