A ship with pale, billowing sails emerges from the left, its hull flecked with golden light and shadow as it glides across dark, reflective water. Figures cluster on the deck, their gestures animated and urgent, while a faint red form suggests a figure raising an arm near the stern. To the right, a colossal, crouching figure looms on a rocky outcrop, its massive form bent forward, with one arm extended as if hurling an object toward the departing ship.

The giant’s head and shoulders are hunched, and his outline is blurred by swirling mist and the golden haze that fills the scene. On the far right, a second vessel is moored close to the shore, its sails furled and its deck crowded with small, indistinct figures and upright poles. The entire composition is suffused with a luminous, yellowish glow, as if the sky is lit by a low sun or the aftermath of a storm, with streaks of pink and orange blending into the clouds.

Loose, sweeping brushstrokes create a sense of movement in the sky and water, while the forms of the ships and the giant are rendered with softer, almost vaporous edges. The water reflects the warm tones of the sky, and subtle ripples are suggested with delicate touches of light and dark pigment. Details of rigging, figures, and the rocky shore are hinted at rather than sharply defined, giving the scene a dreamlike, atmospheric quality.

The composition is arranged so that the ship and the giant dominate the centre, drawing attention to the dramatic encounter between them, while the right edge is anchored by the second vessel and a cluster of vertical masts.