The viewer is immediately enveloped in a cool, misty atmosphere; the early morning fog hangs heavy, softening the edges of the buildings and obscuring the distant end of the boulevard. The artist uses a masterful application of broken brushstrokes, characteristic of Impressionism, to depict the bustling city scene. The buildings on either side of the wide avenue are rendered in muted tones of gray, blue, and beige, their architectural details suggested rather than sharply defined. The trees, devoid of leaves, reach upwards like skeletal fingers, their branches blurred by the atmospheric haze.