Based on new research into the streets and studios of Paris, this book identifies the precise site of Manet's picture, painted shortly after his move to a new studio. The book reveals fresh meaning behind the artist's seemingly straightforward depiction of an urban scene and contrasts his major works of the 1870s with earlier key paintings that also featured Manet's favorite model, Victorine Meurent. The book also explores the atmosphere of Manet's studio and his close relationship with poet and critic Stephane Mallarme. Along with Manet, other artists celebrated the Pont de l'Europe, the Gare Saint-Lazare, and the Paris skyline beyond, while Monet sketched and painted within the station and down on the tracks, capturing the bustle and energy there. A comparison of Manet's and Monet's urban views sheds light on the crucial question of plein air versus studio painting.

This book is the catalogue for an exhibit that opens at the Musee d'Orsay in Paris on February 9, 1998 and moves to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. in May 1998.