Although destined to become a woodworker like his father, poor health and a precocious talent as a draughtsman sent Victor Gilbert to work instead in the atelier of painter/decorator Euène Adam. Too poor to study at the Beaux-Arts, Gilbert attended night classes at the École de la Ville de Paris with Père Levasseur.

By the 1870's, the artist had found a patron in Père Martin whose art shop in the rue Laffitte had been an artistic center since the 1850's. With the neccessary financial support the young artist was able to devote himself to painting; creating a realist oeuvre of the Parisien scenes he prefered - the street markets and their vendors. His depiction of Les Halles, the "belly of Paris," as Emile Zola called the market, was a triumphant success, winning a second class medal for his painting A corner of the Fish Market, Morning.

La peinture de M. Victor Gilbert est saine. Elle ne chante que le travail au grand jour, elle n'exalte que les labeurs honnêtes. Elle est vivante et bien moderne, plein d'exubérance et de force, avec des raffinement et des délicatesses de tons... (Figures Contemporains, tirées de l'Album Mariani, Paris, vol. 7, 1902)

The present composition is quintessential Gilbert. The pretty flower merchant dominates the scene and her wares splash color against the grey background of the quais with their 'bouquinistes'. Paris' first cast-iron bridge - le Pont des Arts - is in the background. The third such bridge of it's kind, the structure was completed in 1804. Students came to and from the Louvre (then called the Palais des Arts - hence the name of the bridge) and the College des Quatre Nations on the Quai Conti (now the Institut de France) from the Left bank to the Right. As with many of Gilbert's mature works, the influence of impressionism can be found in the lightening and softening of his palette and the looser handling of the paint.