The Beach at Marina Piccola, Capri

Franz Skarbina

National Gallery of Art

This painting shows a coastal view where the rocky shoreline meets the sea. Closest to us, blue waves crash against gray rocks in a spray of white. To the left, people stand near a docked boat on the sandy tan shore. Behind them, a rocky gray-and-brown cliff rises up to the top of the painting, and only a small patch of pale blue sky is visible near the top right corner. The cliff is painted with spots of dark green, gray, and pale yellow. The people near the boat are painted with vague patches of gray and tan paint, suggesting people taking or putting on gray clothing. In the center of the painting there is a pale shape in the water that looks like the head and shoulders of a swimming person. This person seems to be connected to a thin gray line that stretches to a large rock on the shore. The brushstrokes in the painting are loose and fluid.