The subject of the painting A chapel on the seashore was inspired by Aivazovky’s journey to the Amalfi Coast. On this painting, the artist depicted a romantic landscape of sunny Italy. Thin cloudy mist covers the sun with solid clouds on the right, which from far off look like mountains surrounded by mist. The sky smoothly slips into the see where the silhouette of a vessel can be seen in the distance. At the forefront on high ground, there is a chapel with a sculpture of a saint in a niche. A man and a woman in traditional Italian clothes are passing the chapel. Using this effect the artist shows the scale of the landscape.
Three horizontal parts of the painting – the earth, the sky and the sea are united by the artist by vertical buildings, trees and ship masts. Similarly to his other works the artist made the foreground of the painting in darker colors. Aivazovsky filled up most of the painting with sky in a warm colour range.

Aivazovsky created this painting in one of his most productive periods – after his trip to Italy. The artist visited Rome and Florence, traveled through the shores of Mediterranean, Tyrrhenian and Adriatic seas. On his journey, he wrote about fifty paintings. In Italy Aivazovsky formed his unique style, he painted from nature but never copied it without adding his own details.

For 60 years of work, Aivazovsky painted almost six thousand pictures. His works were well known throughout the world and many celebrities purchased them. There is no complete list of his works, the artist not only sold his works to galleries but also gave them as gifts.