La Place du Théâtre Français, effet de pluie (Place du Théâtre Français, Effect of Rain)

Parisian street scenes and passing carriages reflecting on the rain-soaked cobblestones.

An ordinary everyday urban scene, viewed from a hotel room. Yet, when this painting was created, the artist Pissarro was in the depths of profound sorrow.

He was unable to paint outdoors due to a chronic eye condition, and had just lost his beloved 23-year-old son.

Due to conflicts over social issues of the time, he also broke with Degas, a long-time colleague. As if to escape the successive sorrows that assailed him, he secluded himself in his room and simply continued to paint what he saw outside his window.

The rainy Paris he painted amidst his deepest sorrow, far from being dark and somber, shines with astonishing silver light and is full of vitality.

What saved him from the abyss of despair might have been the beauty of this ordinary daily life, glistening in the rain.