Pont de la Tournelle, Paris

Stanislas Lépine

National Gallery of Art

This painting depicts a riverbank with a large white bridge spanning across the water. On the left bank is a row of cream and tan buildings, their reflections visible on the gray water of the river below. Closer to us, on the right bank, people are engaged in activities on a sandy embankment. Two people in the bottom right corner sit among piles of white material, a small dog asleep on a cushion beside them. Farther away, a man and a dog sit by the water, and three men stand in a circle near a person sitting on the ground. The people are suggested with small, deliberate brushstrokes, and do not have many visible details. The sky above is light blue and filled with soft, white clouds. A few small carts are visible crossing over the bridge in the distance.