Brittany is a region of France loved by many artists. Monet spent time in Brittany on Belle-Ile, “Beautiful Isle,” south of the Bretagne Peninsula. While there, from September through November, 1886, he celebrated his forty-sixth birthday. About forty oil paintings by Monet are known to have been produced on Belle-Ile. In this one, the Guibel Rock in Port-Domois occupies the center of the picture. The distant rocks are hazy in the rain. The rain, pouring almost sideways, is rendered with a diagonal touch and the whitecaps with curved lines. This work brilliantly captures the violent surface of the sea.