By 1900 Picasso found Barcelona provincial and confining, and set off for Paris, which would become his permanent home in 1904. In the Spring of 1901 he moved into an apartment at no. 130 Boulevard de Clichy. The apartment did not look out onto the Boulevard, as it was at the back of the building, although it has been suggested that the present work may have been painted from a neighbouring apartment.

Picasso was only nineteen years old when Boulevard de Clichy was painted, but the piece clearly illustrates his powers of assimilation. He had acquainted himself with the latest developments of French Impressionism. This aerial view across the busy boulevard has firm Impressionist precedents particularly with regard to Pissarro (see fig. 1), not only in terms of its subject-matter, but also in the manner of its execution. Picasso has adopted a brighter palette and uses swift, short brushstrokes across the entire composition to create a light, airy scene. This painting was first exhibited at Galerie Vollard in 1901 alongside over sixty other works from Picasso's early years. His work had already been well-received and in anticipation of this exhibition Gustave Coquiot wrote an article in Le Journal, describing Picasso as an artist "wildly enamoured of modern life..He does not need to contemplate his subject matter for long; so it is that we see him covering his canvas quickly..Here then we have an artist who has created a new harmony of light colours, making use of striking yellows, reds, greens and blues. We can see at once that (he) wants to see everything and say everything..We shall be hearing more of the work of P.R. Picasso."(J. Palau i Fabre, Picasso: Life and Work of the Early Years 1881-1907, London, 1981, p. 514)