Eliseo Meifrén Roig is considered to be one of the artists who introduced the impressionist language to Catalonia. A member of the Sitges group, where Houses on the Beach might well be set, he generally depicts plein air scenes very similar to this, bathed in Mediterranean light. Although the sea is not actually visible, this is clearly a coastal village; in the foreground, on the right, we see the hull of a fishing boat, its shadow cast on a strip of pebbles that might be part of a beach. In the background we see a small tree, the wall of an orchard and the whitewashed facades of simple houses, their balconies with awnings or clothes hung out in the sun, very similar to those still to be seen in some coastal villages in Catalonia. That whiteness is outlined against a radiant blue sky. Although these masses of white and blue paint might be reminiscent of the Italian macchiaioli or the school of Posillipo, with which Catalan artists (for example the Sitges group, with Arcadi Mas i Fontdevila) were in close contact, the way the boulders and the foliage in the walled garden are painted show why Meifrén is one of the few Spanish luminists painters who deserve to be termed impressionists. This is confirmed by the vaporous, evanescent atmosphere of Lakeside Landscape (1900-1905), in which we see a small group of houses with smoking chimneys on the shore of a lake, while on the opposite shore is a mountain covered in clouds. The reflections in the water and the delicacy with which the vegetation has been painted are examples of the painter's outstanding plein air technique. The light and the subject matter combine to create a relaxed atmosphere, with a range of colours that is quite frequent in this artist's work.

• Julián Gállego Serrano
• María José Alonso
• Carlos Martín