A painting showing two fishing boats beached at Villerville, a little fishing village west of Honfleur, France. They are waiting for the tide to lift them off the narrow beach. The larger vessel is probably a Le Havre trawler. Two men with fishing baskets stand in the shallows, probably looking for mussels, and a third is working on the side of the boat in the shallows. A fourth man works on the boat with his back to the viewer. Other shipping can be seen on the horizon. The artist has created an image of calm and tranquillity.

The area around Villerville was popular among 19th-century artists from Corot to Boudin and the Impressionists. They were attracted by the charm of the estuary, the quality of the light, varied topography of the coastline and the quays of Honfleur.

The painting is signed in lower right corner in dark toned paint: Edmond Yon. Yon was born and died in Paris. He was a landscape painter and an engraver on wood and copper. Working in the style of Corot and Millet, he painted riverbank and beach scenes as well as views of Normandy and Holland. A pupil of two sculptors, Jean Achille Pouget and Justin Lequien, his paintings are fresh, vibrant and colourful. He exhibited at the Paris Salon and produced wood engravings as well as several illustrations for the works of Victor Hugo. He also produced 12 illustrations for 'Quarantième ascension au mont Blanc', a story by Paul Verne. In 1886 he was elected Chevalier of the Légion of Honneur and won a gold medal at the Paris World Fair in 1889.