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Despite being born in Paris, Sisley did not find it easy to produce views of the city, instead preferring industrial subjects such as View of the Canal Saint-Martin or depicting the city from a distance as in this work. He painted it from his apartment at 27 Cité des Fleurs, Batignolles, where he lived with his companion Marie-Adélaïde-Eugénie Lescouezec between 1867 and 1873 and where their children Pierre and Jeanne were born on 17 June 1867 and 29 January 1869. Richard Shone notes that even at this date Sisley's compositions showed more interest in the water and sky than in urban life and the buildings, meaning he was already effectively a landscape painter. MaryAnne Stevens contrasts the work with the stormy skies and dramatic mills in the depictions of Montmartre by Georges Michel and Constant Troyon.
Richard Shone Georges Michel MaryAnne Stevens Constant Troyon Montmartre Cité des Fleurs View of the Canal Saint-Martin Batignolles