In 1921 Sigrid Hjertén painted the dramatic rocky coast of Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer in Normandie for the first time, a motif she will return to several times in the future. The family Hjertén/Grünewald had returned to Paris after almost 10 years in Sweden in 1920. Hjertén often took trips away from the turbulence of the city in chase of inspiration and motifs to the small villages and coastal towns. In the 1910s she had mainly painted portraits of family members and her son Iván in their home and now sought other motifs, both in the city and in nature. The work in focus “Kalkstensklippan, St Aubin” shows the large cliffs of Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer. A storm is approaching. The hundred-meter-high chalk cliffs plunge straight into the water. At ebb, elongated beaches are formed along the coast. Hjertén is taken by the monumental cliffs and she returns to this motif several times in her life. The colors are attenuated and she lets the harsh summer light reflect on the white cliff against a darker sky. A bright horizon contrasts with black sailboats and two small figures collecting mussels at shore.