Boulevard Montmartre Afternoon, in the Rain 1897

Camille Pissarro painted this view of the Boulevard Montmartre in oil on canvas, at the end of his career. Considered one of the founders of Impressionism, Pissarro was committed to depicting modern life and found beauty in the everyday. Here, the artist captures a bustling Parisian boulevard on a rainy afternoon. The upward-looking perspective, showing the street receding into the distance, reflects the modern urban planning of Paris at the time. The city was undergoing massive reconstruction, driven by a modernizing impulse, which created wide boulevards like this one. Pissarro’s decision to paint this scene from a high vantage point reflects the changing social dynamics of the period. As cities grew, so did the distance between social classes. Pissarro is thought to have painted this picture from a hotel room, a symbol of modern urban life. As historians, we can delve into city plans, photographs, and social commentary from the era to better understand the social context that Pissarro captured. This makes the painting a window into a specific moment in time, shaped by social and institutional forces.