Het strand van Saint-Valery-sur-Somme 1827

Victor Adam rendered this print of "The Beach of Saint-Valery-sur-Somme" using lithography. Looking at the image, we see what appears to be a genre scene of everyday life. In this busy port scene, families gather near fishing boats, their bodies huddled closely together as if against the cool sea breeze. Adam captures a slice of 19th-century coastal life, but his depiction subtly navigates the social hierarchies of the time. Note how the figures are carefully arranged: the working class is engaged in labor near the boats, while the bourgeoisie, adorned in fine attire, observe from a slight remove. The beach, then, becomes a stage where social classes meet but don't necessarily mix, each defined by their relationship to the sea's labor. This work isn't just a picturesque scene; it's a reflection on the social fabric of a society defined by both its connection to and its divisions within the natural world.