A tall, pale ship with bare masts and slack, ghostly sails is drawn along by a squat, dark steam tug that trails a plume of black smoke. The two vessels sit low on the left, while the rest of the canvas is given over to a huge, burning sky.

The sun sinks near the horizon in streaks of vermilion, gold and soft rose, and its glow runs down the calm water in long, trembling reflections. Loose, feathery brushwork dissolves the distant shore into haze, so the scene feels wistful and quietly elegiac.