Snowtime in Paris

I don't associate snow with Paris. My image of the French capital consistently includes tree-shaded gardens and other botanical phenomena that one associates with mild weather. That picture received a jolt earlier this week, when over four inches of snow fell on the City of Light.

This episode illuminates how strongly images affect one's conception of the world. It's difficult to imagine a more artistically rendered city than Paris. Characteristically, these images show a vibrant, extroverted city that manifests itself best in warm weather. Few mitigating images interfere with this dreamy version of everyday Parisian reality. One becomes conditioned to a vision of how an environment ought to be. Then, an event such as a snowstorm compels us to look with fresh eyes at seemingly familiar scenes.

There's a useful value in that fresh look, even if one doesn't particularly like snow.

The image is Effect of Snow at Petit Montrouge, a sketch composed by Edouard Manet in 1870.