On the BeachAI

Painted in 1899, this quiet beach scene comes from the Swiss-French artist Félix Vallotton, a member of the group known as the Nabis. Three figures sit with their backs to us, gazing out at a calm stretch of water. We see a woman in a soft pink blouse and straw hat, a child in a bright red cap, and another figure shaded by a pale yellow parasol. Their faces are hidden, leaving us to wonder what they might be thinking as they watch the sea.

Vallotton had a real gift for simplifying scenes down to their essentials. Notice how the beach, water, and sky become flat bands of color, almost like a stage set. This stripped-back style owed a lot to Japanese prints, which were hugely popular in Paris at the time. There is something a little mysterious here too. The figures feel still and almost frozen, and that mix of everyday life with a strange, dreamlike quietness is a thread that runs through much of Vallotton's work.