A windy day at sea
Seascape at Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer
Grains of sand
When the conservator examined this painting under the microscope, she found grains of sand in the paint. It was clear that Van Gogh had made this painting on location – on the beach.
The wind blew sand onto the wet canvas. While he painted, the sand made scratches in the paint.
There is a second clue that this canvas was painted outdoors: two small unpainted areas along the upper edge of the canvas, in the middle.
These were caused by the clips that Van Gogh used to fasten the canvas to his field easel.
