[1][8] Different times of day, lighting, weather conditions, and orientation of the canvas were all aspects that Monet experimented with in his paintings and the two versions of Boulevard des Capucines are consistent with this exploration.

Louis Leroy was extremely critical of the blurred pedestrians, labeling them as “black-tongue lickings” in "L’Exposition des impressionnistes" in Le Charivari, April 25, 1874.

Along the left side of the painting, receding into the background, are the multistory buildings that were redone as a part of Haussmann's reconstruction of Paris, including the distinguished Grand Hôtel.

Additionally, the elevated vantage point minimizes the background-to-foreground tonal contrast and color saturation, while also making the viewer feel that the scene is tilted towards them.

[4] These abrupt and short brushstrokes form the pedestrians in splotches of uniform color and create the image of a crowded sidewalk without explicit structured silhouettes.

"[2] From the beginning of the 1870s, Monet experimented with the texture of his canvas and the effect it had on the painting, favoring a thin layer of "à grain priming" on fine weave twill canvases.

[4] The diagonal weave of the canvas in the Nelson-Atkins version of Boulevard des Capucines can be seen prominently in the way that Monet applied color over the single primed surface.

[4] This creates a distinction between the light and dark portions of the canvas that "gives shimmering effects that evoke both the wintery atmosphere and the sensation of distance" between the viewer and the blurred pedestrians below.

[2][6] Monet’s blurred pedestrians walking on the boulevard evoke the people crossing Pont des Arts in Braun's photograph Panorama of Paris, which was captured from the Quai du Louvre.