In May 1888, Vincent van Gogh planned a trip to the village of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, located on the Mediterranean Sea, 50 km south of Arles. At the time, it was a poor fishing village, located on a coastline devoid of steep cliffs, consisting instead of flat, sandy beaches, much like the sea coasts of the Netherlands. The artist was motivated to go there by the annual Roma pilgrimage to the festival in honor of St. Sarah (May 24).
The painting was created in the morning, before the boats went out to sea. The scenery of the painting is the beach, so to speak, with the sea in its shadow. Its blue color is not much different from the color of the sky. Nature here creates a backdrop for the accurately from the graphic side of the depicted objects.The artist painstakingly rendered the features of the painted boats: the wavy shapes of their hulls and the angular lines of the masts. Almost affectionately depicted objects: boats, benches, shoes, create an impressive sight.
"I spent a week in Saint-Maries.... On this shallow sandy beach there are small green, red and blue boats with such beautiful colors and shapes that a person thinks of flowers."
