Monetdid not want to be typecast for the first independent exhibition, so he chose work that would show his range as an artist. This was one of the five oil paintings that he exhibited, which he painted shortly before the show’s opening. It was a view of the crowded boulevard where the exhibition was taken place. Resourcefully, before the exhibition,Monethad gained access to Nadar’s studio and painted this glowing picture of the bustling street below.