Several images of the French Atlantic shoreline that I discuss in this essay imaginatively engage with the ecology of the edge of the sea, including its human and non human biological communities. Coming from a visual studies perspective, I am interested in articulating an ecological realism of the French Atlantic coast: looking at the intersections of landscape painting, ecological visual culture and the rise of intertidal natural history. Because my research extends far beyond the usual range of art history, I am looking to marine science for vocabulary and metaphors in my descriptions of seaside communities and ecologies.