This complex scene by Constantinos Volanakis is awash in the intense, warm colours of twilight. In the foreground, almost in the centre of the composition, he depicts two people conversing on the shore, between a dinghy and a sailboat. On the right side, he depicts the vast seascape, where the viewer’s gaze is lost on the horizon and on the point where the water element meets the sky. In contrast, the left side of the scene is more complex. A bay is formed in the distance, where sailboats, ships and dinghies are depicted at anchor or in the open near the shore. On the beach, very close to the surface of the sea, flowering plants and part of a wooden fence can be spotted; two women are walking on the sand, heading towards a tile-roofed building with trees and a high yard wall.

The rendering of the subject reveals the artist’s skill and narrative eloquence. The pictorial rendering of every detail is of particular interest, from everyday utility objects next to and on the dinghy and fishing boat, to the naturalistic rendering of the fittings of all the vessels. In contrast, the earthy hilly landscape has been rendered entirely in outline.