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The setting is a beach at nightfall. In the foreground one sees a bright scarlet cloth lying on a dark beach. It is a very ruffly piece of cloth tossed casually aside. In the middle ground is the woman, and whatever she reclines against. It is so dark that one cannot tell what it is, but it is painted in bold, swirling brush strokes; there is very little color other than black, aside from a few spots of red and gray. Also in the middle ground is the billowing canopy under which the woman reclines. Upon close inspection one can see the canopy is gray and blue striped with thin stripes of scarlet. The canopy appears to be blowing gently in the wind. A loose rope sways slightly. It curves gently to the right.
The background is beautifully executed. Behind the nude are the edge of the beach, the ocean, and the night sky. The beach is very dark as is the ocean. However, if you look closely at the ocean can see the gentle waves of the sea and two tiny sailboats on the horizon. The sky has the beauty of the actual sky as the last colors of the sunset fade over the horizon. The sky highest above the ocean is a very dark gray. In the lighter sky just below it one can see dark billowing clouds. The sky just above the horizon is pinkish and purplish from a distance. The whole background is very tranquil, very peaceful.
The coloring of the picture is somewhat disappointing. When you realize that the time of day which is portrayed is hardly conductive to bright colors, you get disappointed by the small range of colors used. Courbet uses black, gray, a blue gray, and scarlet. The only thing with light coloring is the nude, but the few tones are very cool colors. There is only one bright color, the cool red, which is repeated in the woman's cheeks, lips and nipple. The stripes of red in the canopy are not bright at all as they are so muted by the grays and blues. The way in which the scarlet cloth in the foreground calls immediate attention to Courbet's three-quarter inch signature in the left-hand corner almost makes one wonder if that one bright splotch of color wasn't added for egotistical reasons.