Lovers of the Sun is a quintessential example of renowned British portraitist Henry Scott Tuke’s ability to capture light and the human form. Painted in 1923, most likely on Newporth beach, Cornwall where the artist lived and worked, the sunlit seascape embodies the carefree joy of youth and spirit of summer days.

The composition features two youthful figures on a beach in the foreground, basking in the warm sunlight and looking out at the shimmering blue sea where two others swim. The poses of both the seated figure in profile on the left and the standing figure, leaning against a rock on the suggest a sense of ease and relaxation.

Jean Frédéric Bazille, Summer Scene (Bathers), 1869-1870, Oil on canvas, 160 x 160.7 cm (63 x 63 1/4 in.), © Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, 1937.78.

Their quiet companionship is enhanced by the serene beauty of the natural environment. Like in Frédéric Bazille's, Summer Scene (Bathers), the diagonal orientation of the composition draws our attention to the interplay of the figures with their idyllic backdrop. Tuke's painterly technique encourages this affect by capturing the fleeting effects of light across skin to sand. Sunlight bathes the figures in soft shadows, creating subtle highlights across the surface of their skin. His palette is warm and luminous, with sunlit tones of gold, cream, and tan for the figures, contrasted against the cool blues and greens of the sea and sky.

Photograph showing Henry Scott Tuke in his studio painting “Lovers of the Sun” (1923), c.1926, © The Tate Archive, London, TGA 9019/1/4/1/13