A still life by French Surrealist painter Pierre Roy, *La naissance de Vénus* features a collection of objects arranged on a beach, including a seashell, eggs, hair, and coral.

Pierre Roy (1880-1950) was a French Surrealist painter known for his meticulous technique and unsettling juxtapositions of objects. Although he initially trained as an architect, Roy turned to painting, developing a style characterised by precise realism and dreamlike imagery. He exhibited with the Surrealists in the 1920s and 1930s, though his work maintains a distinctive character within the movement. His paintings often feature unexpected combinations of natural and artificial elements, rendered with a smooth, almost photographic finish. *La naissance de Vénus* presents a collection of objects arranged on what appears to be a beach. A large seashell holds two speckled eggs, while a length of hair tied with a blue ribbon rests atop a classical plinth. Coral sits on top of the plinth. The background shows a calm sea and sky, painted in muted tones. The painting's title alludes to the classical myth of Venus's birth from the sea, but the objects themselves create a sense of mystery and displacement, typical of Surrealist art.