The brushstrokes in the upper part of this painting are descriptive and tactile, as if they were stuck onto the surfaces of the buildings or the result of physically touching solid objects.
In the lower section, the brushwork is by necessity intuitive and interpretative, suggesting the reflections of the houses in the water, as well as slight movements in the water itself.
The contrast between the treatment of these two areas, while compatible with the overall unity of the painting, at the same time serves to emphasize the solidity and calm of the upper composition and the wateriness of its counterpart below.
Helping to differentiate these two settings are the colours employed: warm earth tones in the houses and colder hues for the sea and the sky, even if both mingle together in the water ―in the reflections of the buildings and the sky. The same occurs in the sky itself, where the clouds are tinged with ochre.
