Effect of the Sun in a Cloud

This print achieves a major simplification in the representation of its subject. A likely depiction of one of the many coastal promontories around Le Pouldu, the landscape is composed of three connected but distinct areas: the horizontal beach, the near-vertical cliff-face, and the largely horizontal landscape at the cliff-top. The cloud is simplified: O’Conor renders it with a wavy outline and short vertical lines that strengthen the image’s effects of flatness and near-abstraction. In each of the three main areas, parallel lines indicate the vertical or horizontal lay of the land. The sun’s stylised rays and lack of line reinforce the effect of a radiant point lighting up this area of the composition.