A street in Paris, May 1871

Maximilien Luce's 'A Street in Paris, May 1871' (1903-1905) depicts the aftermath of the Paris Commune — the street scene of 1871 with its barricades, rubble, and the devastation left by the violent suppression of the Commune by the Versailles government. Luce was deeply committed to anarchist politics, and his retrospective engagement with the Commune's suppression gave the historical subject urgent political content. The May 1871 date placed the image at the moment of the 'Bloody Week' when thousands of Communards were executed by the Versailles troops.

Luce renders the Commune aftermath with his characteristic divisionist technique — the broken color of his Neo-Impressionist approach applied to a subject of intense political and historical significance. His handling of the rubble, smoke, and damaged buildings of the post-Commune street creates the specific atmosphere of urban destruction and political defeat. The divisionist technique's systematic, seemingly objective method creates a productive tension with the subject's emotional and political urgency.