The artwork titled “Boulevard Montmartre Night” is a significant piece by the artist Camille Pissarro, painted in the year 1897. It is executed in oil on canvas and belongs to the Impressionist movement. The painting has dimensions of 64.8 by 53.3 centimeters and depicts a cityscape. This exquisite work is housed in the National Gallery in London.
The artwork captures an evening scene of the bustling Boulevard Montmartre in Paris. The painter’s technique is characterized by the use of loose, expressive brushstrokes that are quintessential of the Impressionist style, which seeks to reflect the fleeting effects of light and atmosphere. The painting portrays the vibrancy of urban life during the night with an array of bright, reflective surfaces suggesting the artificial lights of the city illuminating the wet cobblestone street and the facades of the buildings that line the boulevard. Figures of passersby are rendered in quick daubs of paint, capturing the dynamic and ephemeral nature of the city’s nocturnal activities. Pissarro’s treatment of the urban landscape conveys not just the visual experience of the city but also the lively ambiance that enveloped Paris during this period.