The observation has been made that this, the last piece in Debussy's Images, Book II, is a counterpart to the final piece (Mouvement) in Book I. While both works explore rapid movement and sonorities that swirl and gyrate, most listeners will find the two quite different: the first is a driven, rhythmic work, and the latter is subtler, more evocative of specific images and having a more balanced mixture of moderate and fast tempos. Poissons d'or (Goldfish) was inspired by a wood panel in the composer's office containing the figures of two goldfish. Debussy must have taken great pleasure in giving them life in Poissons d'or, wherein their busy fins flash and splash, their torsos glide, and their movements ripple the waters. The work opens with gently quivering sonorities from the bass range, but the music brightly rises into the upper register and a sunny theme is heard. The quivering reappears, as do playful dives and shimmering swirls and other keyboard evocations of the fish's activities. All is joyous and fun filled, especially at the work's ecstatic climax, where their minnow-sized movements seem to take on big-sea fish properties. This masterful gem typically has a duration of about four minutes.

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