This painting shows the beach at Sainte-Adresse near Monet's home town of Le Havre, then a fashionable tourist resort. It was probably intended as a study for a larger exhibition picture.

The brushwork shows Monet's determination to record the particular characteristics of this simple image. From the delicate colours of the shingle beach to the ribbons of sunlight on the horizon, there is ample evidence of his rigorous observation, as well as his developing skill in finding equivalents in paint for changing effects of light and varying natural textures.