A quiet harbor at low tide stretches across the foreground, its water receding to reveal pale sand and a scattering of boats resting on the exposed ground. A long stone pier juts in from the lower left, its pale surface catching the light, while a wooden structure or gangway extends diagonally from the center toward the bottom edge. Two dark-hulled boats lean against the sloping sand near the center, their masts rising at angles and casting faint shadows on the ground.

Beyond the harbor walls, a row of houses and buildings forms a compact village, their facades rendered in soft yellows, blues, and violets. The rooftops create a jagged line against a backdrop of green trees and a pale blue sky, dotted with delicate, almost dissolving clouds. Sunlight falls evenly across the scene, with no deep shadows, giving the painting a luminous, airy quality.

Touches of orange, green, blue, and violet intermingle in the water, sand, and sky, creating a sense of movement and atmosphere. The composition is carefully balanced, with the horizontal bands of water, sand, and village stacked one above the other, and the verticals of the boats and masts punctuating the calm. Tiny details, such as the suggestion of windows, doors, and chimneys, are built from the same pointillist technique, dissolving into abstraction up close.

The signature 'Seurat' appears in the lower left corner, integrated into the painted surface. The upper right corner features a dense cluster of green trees, contrasting with the more open sky above the village. Along the upper edge of the painting, faint vertical lines suggest distant masts or telegraph poles rising above the rooftops.

The lower right corner is bordered by a dark, angular stone structure, framing the harbor scene and anchoring the composition. Short, precise dabs of paint in blue, green, and ochre create a shimmering effect on the water’s surface, with each color remaining distinct rather than blended. Georges Seurat completed Port-en-Bessin: The Outer Harbor (Low Tide) in 1888.