This painting depicts the Pont Boieldieu, an iron bridge built in the mid-1880s to replace the famous seventeenth century bridge, often depicted in picturesque representations of the city. Pissarro captures the sense of energy and teeming life on the bridge which seems as if suspended in mid air, neither end being visible in the composition. The scene is subsumed in an all over pattern of nuanced strokes suggesting the 'constant mobility of light, atmosphere, water, smoke and steam' (Gerstein). Following Monet's lead, Pissarro painted a series of Pont Boieldieu pictures all based around the same motif. However, whilst Monet claimed that the actual motif was insignificant, a mere vehicle for the effects of light and atmosphere, Pissarro remained engaged with the human and political aspects of the modern city.