Boulevard des Capucines

Boulevard des Capucines at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City is the Missouri variant of the famous view Monet painted from Nadar's studio on the Boulevard des Capucines in late 1873 — the same building where the first Impressionist exhibition was held in April 1874. The Nelson-Atkins version differs slightly from the Pushkin Museum's — the two canvases were almost certainly both present at the 1874 exhibition, showing the boulevard from different window positions — and the comparison between them reveals Monet's interest in how subtle shifts of viewpoint transform the same subject. The Kansas City museum's acquisition of this canvas reflects the widespread American enthusiasm for Impressionist painting that built in the decades after the movement's initial reception; Midwestern museums from Kansas City to Chicago built important Impressionist collections through astute purchases in the mid-twentieth century. The Nelson-Atkins's holding of this historically crucial canvas places one of the most significant images from the 1874 exhibition in the American heartland.

Monet's brushwork is characteristically loose and broken, built from comma-like strokes that dissolve solid forms into shimmering surfaces of pure color. He worked rapidly outdoors to capture transient atmospheric effects, layering complementary hues without blending to create optical vibration.