From 1904-1919, Frederick Frieseke lived and worked in Giverny and considered himself a "true impressionist", using nature as his inspiration and rejecting "all accepted rules of painting." Frieseke preferred the outdoors, painting interior scenes only when the weather was inclement. It was during this period that his treatment of light and color became signature characteristics of his work. In an interview with the painter and writer Clara T. MacChesney, published on June 7, 1914, the artist discussed his infatuation with sunlight: "No, it is sunshine, flowers in sunshine; girls in sunshine; the nude in sunshine, which I have been principally interested in for eight years, and if I could only reproduce it exactly as I see it I would be satisfied."

Dr. Bruce Chambers observes, however, that despite these assertions of naturalism, the artist embraced the more radical pointillism of Seurat and the expressive patterning of artists such as Vuillard, Bonnard, and Klimt. In On the Beach as in other works from this period, the artist's dappled use of sunlight, the pastel hues of rose and azure blue, the direction and texture of his brushstrokes and the contrasts of light and shadow create a patterned harmony reminiscent of the post-impressionists.

Throughout his career, Frieseke painted women and, as Chambers points out, his subjects were generally the more mature European women of Cassatt, Degas and Renoir. Perhaps that is why Dr. McDonough fell in love with this painting, as it is suggestive of the French impressionists whose work he coveted in his early collecting days. Frieseke chose to paint women who appeared self-absorbed, whether alone or in company; whether dressed or nude. The nude in this canvas is lost in thought, half-hidden by her parasol from the sun of a hot summer's day.

The artist was fascinated with the female form and based his reputation in Europe on painting nudes. Although such subjects were not particularly commercial in the United States, as his dealer William Macbeth discovered, Frieseke remained committed to this genre and for this reason continued to live and work in France:

I stay here because I am more free and there are not the Puritanical restrictions which prevail in America. Not only can I paint a nude here out of doors, but I can have a greater choice of subjects. As there are so few conven- tionalities in France, an artist can paint what he wishes. I can paint a nude in my garden or down by the fish pond and not be run out of town. (MacChesney)

Despite the artist's affinity for France, his style had an American flair, unlike his fellow expatriate Mary Cassatt, and the blending of the two influences enabled him to maintain his popularity in both Europe and America. By 1914, he had works in the Musee de Luxembourg in Paris, the Galleria d'Arte Moderna in Venice, and the Museum of Odessa in Russia. His most prominent American patron was Rodman Wanamaker, President of the American Art Association of Paris, whose painting La Toilette(circa 1912) was given to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

According to Nicholas Kilmer, On the Beach was painted in Corsica in February of 1913. This painting closely relates to another painting of the same title in which the figure is standing on the sand, fully dressed and holding a parasol. The same model, Marcelle, also appears in Autumn (1914), now in the collection of the Museo d'Arte Moderna.

This painting will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of Frieseke's work being compiled by Nicholas Kilmer, the artist's grandson.