Brett has painted all parts of this scene, near and far, in equal detail. He has also cropped any foreground. This combination of naturalism and unusual composition often resulted in a distanced, objective appearance in Brett's works, confirming his claim that he attempted merely to paint what he saw. The critic John Ruskin has influenced Brett's naturalism but he later condemned Brett's art as 'the mirror... held up to nature; but it is Mirror's work, not Man's'.

Brett was a master of judgement in mixing watercolour with bodycolour. He did not, so like many of his contemporaries, employ the opaque pigment solely for the obvious highlights, but used it also to model depth and shadow. In this, one of Brett's earliest coastal scenes, there are brilliant touches in the cliffs and the surface of the sea as well as the distant town and hills. He must have had phenomenal eyesight - an essential requisite for astronomy and geology, two of his passions besides painting - in addition to the most delicate touch.

• Presented by Sir Richard Cooper, Bt., 1917.
• © Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery