H. Chr. Christensen, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of P.S. Krøyer, 1923, no. 550.

Provenance: Merchant Max Lester (1923), his estate auction Winkel & Magnussen auction 26, 1924 no. 52.

Inscribed on the back of the frame in pencil: 'Max Levig'. Max Levig (1866–1956) came to Denmark from Hamburg in 1888 and founded in 1890, together with his cousin, Valdemar Glückstadt (1868–1942), the company Max Levig & Co. During World War I, Max Levig changed his name to Max Lester.

The painting is from one of Krøyer's most fruitful artistic periods in the 1890s, also known as his 'blue period', where in many of his most famous and sought-after works he depicts the very special time and atmosphere on Skagen beach at dusk, also known as “l'heure bleu” - the blue hour, where the sky and the sea seem to flow into each other in the same blue hue. Krøyer loved the dusk and the moonlight, where the fine nuances were more evident than in high sunshine.

This painting is one of Krøyer's very classic depictions from this period. The strong diagonal of the beach, the shipwreck as a classic romantic symbol, but which is also testimony to the harsh reality of the fishermen in Skagen, the wheel tracks in the sand, that tells us that someone has just been there but has now gone and the very special l'heure bleu atmosphere - all of which contribute to create a poetically longing atmosphere of quiet silence on a warm bright summer night at the sea.