Lynn artist’s vision of Parisian street in early 1900s formed part of important travel book

In this week’s Picture This, Lynn Museum shares a painting of a Parisian street by a famed Lynn artist…This enticing image of a Parisian street disappearing into the distance prompts us to ask, ‘What’s round that corner?’, ‘What is the lady on the right looking at?’ and ‘Who is the shadowy figure in the distance?’The pastel-coloured print of a watercolour by Lynn artist Walter Dexter (1876-1958) was included in E V Lucas’s book A Wanderer in Paris, first published in 1908, showing readers what Paris looked like at the beginning of the 20th century.

The street is Rue de Bièvre, named after the ancient River Bièvre, which flows into the Seine.Lucas, an English writer, wrote about the culture, art and life he saw in Paris streets in the early 1900s.The book went on to be an important travel book as it depicted how Paris looked and felt before WWI, the pages beautifully brought to life by a total of 16 Dexter illustrations.