Art historians often divide Sunyer’s work into two clearly differentiated periods. The first would correspond to his time in Paris, when he succeeded in making a name for himself as a modern artist in the Europe of his time, doing so on his own merits alongside major names like André Derain (1880-1954), Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947), James Ensor (1860-1949), Henri Matisse (1869-1954), Paul Signac (1863-1935) or Pablo Picasso (1881-1973). The second period, which coincided with his return to Sitges, culminated the career he had begun in Paris and marked his artistic maturity. It was defined by a highly personal sensibility for colour and light, and by a prevailing Mediterranean overtone and the presence of ideals.

In this Sitges period —to which this undated work probably belongs— the artist returns to his favourite subject matters, namely, female nudes, landscapes and domestic scenes.

This oil painting depicts a naked woman placidly swimming below the surface of the sea. Here, Sunyer arranged a singular composition in which a diagonal line creates two differentiated levels in the sea: in the foreground, the bottom of the sea where the woman is submerged is rendered with more shaded blue hues, as if it did not receive the sunlight. In contrast, the background presents a sea, with bluish and greenish tones, that blends in with the horizon. A sailing boat lightly sketched in the distance is the only spatial reference.

The female nude is voluptuous and sensual, with the lines of the drawing well defined, showing the artist’s mastery in representing human anatomy. It is somewhat reminiscent of Cézanne’s voluminous and attractive women. Here the artist did not lend too much attention to the woman’s face or hands, and his sole intention seems to be to convey strength and solidity. But the woman is not alone: several sea animals are swimming by her side, including a large fish, a jellyfish and other beings that seem to quietly accompany her. We can see the legs of another woman in the bottom left corner.

In this painting Sunyer masterly represents the change of the female paradigm from Modernismo to : the image of an idealised and spiritual woman gives way to another type of woman, whose naturalness, sensuousness and vigour represent life lived to the full.