Love by the sea: eight paintings of couples on the shore

A honeymoon voyage, a proposal by the harbour, a walk on Skagen beach. Eight paintings of lovers and the sea, from Friedrich to the Belle Époque.

A man in a dark coat and a woman in a red dress seen from behind, sitting hand in hand at the prow of a sailing boat, a distant city of spires ahead across pale water; painted by Caspar David Friedrich.

The sea has always belonged to lovers: it is where people say goodbye and where they come home, where they walk in summer and where they make promises. These eight paintings from the Love Stories collection put couples beside, or on, the water, in every weather from a calm blue evening to a storm.

1. On the Sailing Boat

Caspar David Friedrich — On the Sailing Boat, 1818. Hermitage, St Petersburg. Complete composition.

Caspar David Friedrich and his young wife Caroline sit hand in hand at the prow of a boat, in a picture thought to recall their honeymoon journey of 1818, looking towards a far city of spires. We see only their backs, which lets us take their place.

Pale, quiet and full of meaning: the perfect honeymoon picture.

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2. A Proposal: Fisherman and Fisher Girl

A fisherman in a blue cap leaning close to a fisher girl in a red jacket and striped apron as they sit by the sea, a red curtain behind them; painted by Kristian Zahrtmann.

Kristian Zahrtmann — A Proposal: Fisherman and Fisher Girl, c. 1863. Complete composition.

Kristian Zahrtmann's fisherman and fisher girl sit together by the harbour, he in a blue cap leaning close, she in a red jacket and striped apron, her head bowed as she considers his question. A red curtain hangs behind them and the sea shines beyond.

A shy, sweet proposal in red and blue: a gift for an engagement.

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3. The Lovers (by the sea)

A man and a woman in a grey striped dress and dark shawl sitting close together on the shore looking out to sea; painted by William Powell Frith.

William Powell Frith — The Lovers (by the sea), 19th c. Complete composition.

William Powell Frith, the great painter of Victorian crowds, here paints just two people: a couple sitting together on the shore, she in a grey striped dress and dark shawl, he leaning against her, both looking out to sea.

Grey, silver and soft: a calm picture with a lot of sky.

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4. Summer Evening on Skagen's Beach: the Artist and his Wife

A woman in a white dress and a man in a pale suit and straw hat walking arm in arm along a beach at dusk, the moon reflected in the calm blue sea, a dog beside them; painted by Peder Severin Krøyer.

Peder Severin Krøyer — Summer Evening on Skagen's Beach: the Artist and his Wife, 1899. Hirschsprung Collection, Copenhagen. Complete composition.

Peder and Marie Krøyer walk arm in arm along the beach at Skagen on a summer evening, their dog beside them and the moon rising over the sea. It is the most famous evening walk in Scandinavian painting.

The blue hour by the sea: calm, cool and luminous.

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5. An Eloquent Silence

A young man and woman in classical robes sitting apart on a white marble bench under purple flowers, the blue sea beyond the wall; painted by Lawrence Alma-Tadema.

Lawrence Alma-Tadema — An Eloquent Silence, 1890. Complete composition.

Lawrence Alma-Tadema seats a young Roman couple on a white marble bench above a blue sea, a pot of purple flowers spilling over the wall. They sit apart and do not speak; the title is An Eloquent Silence.

Marble, blue sea and violet flowers: Alma-Tadema's sunlit Mediterranean.

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6. Gallant Couple on the Shore

A lady in a pink gown holding her hat against the wind on a rock by the sea while a gentleman in a tricorn and brown coat reaches up to steady her; painted by Georges Clairin.

Georges Clairin — Gallant Couple on the Shore, before 1919. Complete composition.

Georges Clairin's gallant couple meet the wind on the beach: she in pink, holding her hat and her ribbons as she climbs on to a rock, he in a tricorn and brown coat reaching up for her hand.

Breezy and pale: a seaside picture full of movement.

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7. Romantic Scene by the Sea

A cavalier in a wide hat and a lady in a gold silk gown walking arm in arm on a rocky shore under a stormy sky, a white greyhound at their feet; painted by Edmond-Louis Dupain.

Edmond-Louis Dupain — Romantic Scene by the Sea, before 1933. Complete composition.

Edmond-Louis Dupain's cavalier and his lady stride along the rocks with a white greyhound under a stormy sky, his cloak flying, her gold gown shining.

Swashbuckling romance and a big sky: an adventurous picture.

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8. Farewell!

A young fisherman holding a woman in his arms in a small boat swamped by enormous grey-green waves; painted by Alfred Guillou.

Alfred Guillou — Farewell!, 1892. Musée des Beaux-Arts de Quimper. Complete composition.

Alfred Guillou's Breton fisherman holds the woman he loves as their boat is swamped by a towering wave. He called it Adieu!: the sea that fed his village also took its people.

The wildest sea in the collection, and a great love: a powerful picture.

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Sea pictures open up a room like a window. Every painting here is printed whole from its restored scan, never cropped, and each has a portrait style made from it.

Walk through the Love Stories room · The Love Stories collection