The painting depicts a rest moment of a young lady laying on the beach and wearing a swimming suit. She is accompanied by her servant while she collects shells filling a small basket. The two figures represented by Voillemot appear as his critics commonly describe them: « of natural grandeur, of elegant and proud form».

Painter of mythological compositions, of allegorical scenes and portraitist, André Charles Voillemot is born at Paris December 13, 1823. Having for master Michel Drolling, he starts at the salon in 1845 with his self-portrait that causes a certain success and provoque orders of the upper middle class of the epoch.

After having achieved a set of portraits, he begins to show since 1849 at the Salon allegorical scenes pulled from the ancient and Celtic Legends. This is how he exposes “Zéphyr” in the Salon of 1859 whose theme is dear to romanticism and to the Anglo-Saxon Tales.

In 1867, he decorates the Imperial Pavilion in the World Fair, executes then two years later the decoration of the Theater of Fointainebleau. Finally, in 1870, he gets a Second Medal with “The cicada and the fourmi”. This same year, he is promoted Knight oh the Honor Legion.

After having achieved the decoration of the Convention Center in Santiago de Chile, the artist comes back in France filled of honor. He died in Paris, April 9, 1893.