Summer Days, Vicente Palmaroli
Sitting near the seashore, a lady puts her reading aside for a moment to turn and look out at the spectator. Despite her location out on the beach, she wears a long purple skirt with splendid black lace decoration, a white pinafore, a comfortable shawl and a hat with blond lace and feathers. In her hand she holds a small parasol. She appears to have settled comfortably and sits at a distance from the other holiday-makers and next to a number of rush-bottomed chairs (for resting by the sea), other useful beach items, and a few articles of clothing. Reserved, reading and surprised in her solitude, there is a melancholic, refined air about this female holiday-maker that is greatly in keeping with both the tastes of the European upper-middle class of the last quarter of the 19th century and a stereotype of bourgeois femininity well-known through literature and reflected in a perfectly defined type of art. This was a form of iconography which Palmaroli explored on a truly successful commercial basis.
In the late 19th century, going down to the beach in clothing more suited to walking, as the lady in this canvas has done, was considered the height of sophistication. In fact dressing elegantly at the seaside became a sign of true distinction only a short time after this picture was painted.
                                
Discover more Old Masters in the following collections:
 The endangered swan, Jan Asselijn
The endangered swan, Jan Asselijn The mill at Wijk bij Duurstede, Jacob Isaacksz. van Ruisdael
The mill at Wijk bij Duurstede, Jacob Isaacksz. van Ruisdael Queen Elizabeth of Bourbon
Queen Elizabeth of Bourbon Flower arrangement, Jan Davidsz. de Heem
Flower arrangement, Jan Davidsz. de Heem A Amsterdam street scene - Adrianus Eversen
A Amsterdam street scene - Adrianus Eversen The goldfinch, Carel Fabritius
The goldfinch, Carel Fabritius Vincent van Gogh. Flower beds in Holland
Vincent van Gogh. Flower beds in Holland Jacob Maris - Fishing boat
Jacob Maris - Fishing boat The School of Athens, Raphael
The School of Athens, Raphael Almond blossom painting by Vincent van Gogh
Almond blossom painting by Vincent van Gogh The Mirror, Robert Reid
The Mirror, Robert Reid Portrait of a woman, anonymous - 1633
Portrait of a woman, anonymous - 1633 The Milkmaid - Vermeer painting
The Milkmaid - Vermeer painting Agapanthus, Claude Monet
Agapanthus, Claude Monet Vincent van Gogh. Olive orchard
Vincent van Gogh. Olive orchard Cypresses
Cypresses The Artist’s Garden in Giverny, Claude Monet
The Artist’s Garden in Giverny, Claude Monet The great wave of Kanagawa, Hokusai
The great wave of Kanagawa, Hokusai Italian landscape with pine trees, Hendrik Voogd
Italian landscape with pine trees, Hendrik Voogd Bouquet of flowers on white background (seen at VT Wonen)
Bouquet of flowers on white background (seen at VT Wonen)