Monet spent the summer of 1870 at Trouville, the popular resort along the English Channel. In Beach at Trouville he depicts the guests of the fashionable Hotel des Roches Noires strolling up and down the boardwalk, as well as the effect of the sunlight reflected on land and water. While viewers today find these straightforward depictions of leisure time activities quite pleasing, they were actually controversial in the 1870s. Monet was criticized both for his choice of subject matter – which was considered too trite – and for his summary treatment of the human form.

Claude Monet (French, 1840-1926)
Beach at Trouville, c. 1870