The low-lying sun is reflected as a column of light on the water. There is a family in a boat and on a jetty, to the right where white smoke billows forth. It is high tide. Wooden poles disappear in a perspective shortening. Tall grass grows at the water’s edge. A flight of birds traverses the sky where the clouds break. The flat landscape is reminiscent of Holland where Skånberg painted, influenced by 15th–century masters such as Jan van Goyen as well as the contemporary Hague School with its realistic landscape painting. He often depicted coastal landscapes and life in a harbour, with a particular interest in everyday activities. Skånberg was popular among his friends who gave him the nickname “Skånis”. He is supposed to have been touchy and sarcastic, a gourmand and a dandy. In his short career – Skånberg suffered from Pott’s disease, had a stoop, heart disease and asthma and died prematurely at the age of 33 – he created an oeuvre that impressed his fellow artists and contributed to the renewal of Swedish landscape painting.
