Street Scene in Paris

Watercolor, which had been popular with the romantic artists of the 1820s and 1830s, was revived by artists of the late 19th century. Regarded as midway between drawing and painting, this technique was useful for making an immediate, on-the-spot record of a scene-with the idea that the watercolor sketch would later be developed into a finished painting. Increasingly, however, watercolors assumed the status of independent works and attracted the interest of a growing cadre of collectors.