Rooftops

Rooftops (1900) by Alice Pike Barney looks down on an urban or suburban landscape from an elevated vantage point — a compositional angle that had become popular among Post-Impressionist painters influenced by Caillebotte's Paris balcony views and Pissarro's boulevard scenes. Barney likely painted this from a Paris window or rooftop, capturing the rhythm of chimneys, skylights, and sloping zinc roofs that defined the Haussmann cityscape.

The elevated viewpoint compresses the rooftop landscape into a near-abstract pattern of angles and planes. Barney handles the chimneys and roof surfaces with bold, summary marks. The palette would be dominated by the grey-blue of Paris roofing zinc, punctuated by warm terracotta chimney pots and darker shadow areas.