Boulevard Montmartre Afternoon, Sunlight 1897

Camille Pissarro painted Boulevard Montmartre Afternoon, Sunlight in 1897, towards the end of his career. It’s one of a series of paintings made from a hotel window, depicting the bustling streets of Paris. Pissarro, although considered one of the founders of Impressionism, stands apart from his colleagues. Unlike Monet or Renoir, Pissarro maintained a commitment to social critique and his Impressionist cityscapes often depicted the social transformations of Paris. Here, we see the modern boulevards which were built in the second half of the 19th century. Note the sheer volume of traffic, of both pedestrians and horse-drawn carriages; the flow of people is constant, a direct result of urban planning. Looking through archives that document the radical transformation of Paris during that period can inform our understanding of paintings like this. We can also look at the artist's personal letters and papers to see how an artist expressed his ideas, opinions, and beliefs. Social context always informs artistic production.