By the Sea

In 1881 Grigorescu was an established painter, free to travel and to follow the light he wanted. Scenes by the sea gave him what he liked best, a wide sky, open air and shifting weather, with none of the fuss of a studio setting. This is plein-air painting in the Barbizon spirit he had absorbed in France, the picture built quickly from what the eye actually saw on the shore rather than composed indoors from rules. The figures and the coast are handled loosely, kept subordinate to the overall impression of daylight and distance.