Promenade beside the Sea
- Artist: Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas
- Date: about 1860
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Museum: The National Gallery
- Collection record: The National Gallery website
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About this artwork
This is "Promenade beside the Sea" by Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas. Painted in the Italian north around 1860, this work showcases Degas' fascination with the motif of the horse and rider. The scene depicted here is the Bay of Naples, a location that would become a source of inspiration for many artists.
Note how the figures are dressed in black and wear top hats, a classic attire of the time. The male and female riders gallop away from us, around the edge of the bay towards a distant row of hills jutting into the sea. The composition is quite dynamic, capturing the energy of the moment.
Interestingly, Degas didn't create this sketch solely from life. He studied both the setting and the figures separately in drawings before bringing them together here. This blend of observation and study gives the painting a sense of spontaneity while maintaining its technical precision.
See it in person
Promenade beside the Sea hangs in The National Gallery on Trafalgar Square, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
