The nautical expertise Tellaeche picked up during his earlier life as a sailor is visible in the way he treats and represents boats, like the ones at the centre of this composition of the fishing harbour in Bermeo (Vizcaya).
 
He systematically focused his practice on seascapes and views of harbours, hence the popularity in his day as “the painter of the sea and its people.” Many of his paintings depicting Basque landscapes went on display in the best Parisian galleries and salons of the time.
 
In this oil painting the artist manages to convey the essence of the Basque landscape using a palette rich in ochre tones that contrasts with the points of light coming from the landscape and the boat in the foreground. The sky is executed with free-flowing, powerful brushwork that smudges the base paint and imbues this northern sky of leaded hues with greater realism.
 
Tellaeche reused the support, and on the back of the painting he sketched a portrait of a young man with the title “Txo”.