Boulevard in Paris. 1912 Konstantin Alekseevich Korovin (1861-1939)

The painting depicts a bustling Parisian boulevard at night in 1912. The scene is illuminated by the warm glow of electric streetlights and shop windows, casting a vibrant but somewhat hazy light on the street and the figures on it. Tall trees with bare branches line the sides of the boulevard, adding a sense of depth and structure to the composition. Numerous people are visible, a dense crowd of elegantly dressed Parisians strolling along the sidewalks and crossing the street. Their forms are rendered with loose, painterly brushstrokes, emphasizing movement and the overall atmosphere rather than individual detail.
The subtexts of this painting revolve around modernity, urban life, and the sensory experience of a vibrant city. The year 1912 places the scene at the cusp of significant societal and technological changes, with electric lighting being a relatively new and exciting feature of urban landscapes, symbolizing progress and a new era of city life. The crowded boulevard suggests a lively social scene, a place of entertainment, commerce, and social interaction. The impressionistic style, with its focus on light, color, and atmosphere, captures the fleeting sensory impressions of the moment, the dynamic energy of the city, and perhaps a sense of excitement and anonymity that comes with being in a large, modern metropolis. The darkness punctuated by artificial light evokes a sense of romanticism and mystery often associated with Parisian nights, while the sheer density of the crowd hints at the effervescence and vitality of pre-war Paris.