Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas, 'Promenade beside the Sea', about 1860

An elegantly attired couple on horseback rides along the coast in the direction of some cliffs stretching out beneath a tranquil, rosy sky. The gentleman is dressed in black and wears a top hat, while the lady, who sits side-saddle, is dressed in a long, dark riding habit. Her outfit comprises a tailored, peplum-waisted jacket worn over a white shirt and long skirt, with a tall hat whose attached blue veil billows in the breeze. The couple, seen from behind, maintain a gentle pace, and there is a suggestion of conversation. The man’s left arm is raised, perhaps pointing to something further along the shore. A series of loose, dark green brushstrokes in the lower right foreground convey a patch of coastal vegetation, situated next to some wooden posts or groynes protruding diagonally towards the horizon.

The horse and rider theme is recurrent in Degas’s oeuvre, and this charming oil sketch is an early example. Degas enjoyed depicting equine subjects, as they allowed him to explore movement and motion – a lifelong preoccupation that would also draw him to the theme of dance. Here, the artist suggests the movement of the horses’ gait through a subtle use of open brushwork, making details indistinct, while a touch of impasto captures the energy of a gentle wave breaking on the shore.

The location has been identified as the Bay of Naples, an area that Degas visited on several occasions while visiting members of his Italian family. During these trips Degas made numerous drawings and studies of the Neapolitan landscape in a variety of media, some of which he incorporated into later compositions. Although Promenade beside the Sea gives the impression of being a study made rapidly in situ and outdoors, it is more likely that it was produced in the artist’s studio, using a number of earlier such preparatory studies including pencil sketches of horses and landscape elements.

It has been established that the left-hand section of the composition, showing the two riders, is most likely based on a pen-and-wash sketch found in one of Degas’s notebooks (Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris).

The work was probably painted in 1860, just a few months after the young artist had established his first studio in Paris and a number of years before he co-founded the group that would famously become known as the Impressionists.