The Pont Marie at Sunset, Paris

A retiring soul, Lebourg came to Impressionism instinctively in his efforts to paint the effects he loved, of mist or snow along beaches and rivers. Working outdoors, he painted series of the same place at different times of day and in different lights. Younger than the Impressionist comrades with whom he exhibited, his lyrical canvases have the nuanced atmosphere of a Sisley or a Monet, but he was overshadowed by his famous colleagues. Nevertheless, his paintings were purchased by the same collectors, even earlier than Monet or Sisley. He exhibited at the fourth Impressionist exhibition in 1879 and at the fifth in 1880. This painting probably depicts the Pont Marie linking the Île Saint-Louis to the Right Bank of Paris. Lebourg often painted the bridges of Paris: he was drawn to them by the movement of the Seine, the lively activity on the quays, the living face of the city, the changing cloudscapes and their reflections in the water. He preferred to depict morning and evening light, as in this painting.