Constantinos Volanakis

The delicate tones, soft, almost transparent layers of built-up colour, and the still, idyllic atmosphere in the present work make it a fine example of the Volanakis marine genre. Though Volanakis' signature fisherfolk work industriously, there is a pervasive sense of serenity and windless calm.  The temperamental sea transforms into a limpid pool, gently reflecting the bottoms of the boats as the crystalline waters lap lightly at the sandy shore. The artist's distinctively broad expanse of clear sky indistinctly describes dawn or dusk in his oeuvre, and drama is foregone for scenes of peace that speak of the artist's attachment to the coast and sea.

As stated by Chrysanthos Christou, '[Volanakis] remains a rare painter, who transports us from shore to shore, with his little scenes, and his views of sea or gulf, in which the sweet, blue atmosphere of the Mediterranean finds concrete expression' (Chrysanthos Christou, The National Gallery: 19^th and 20^th Century Greek Painting, Athens, 1957, p. 20).