A view of the church of Saint-Pierre at Petit-Montrouge, a Paris suburb. It is inscribed: â mon ami H. Charlet 28 Xbre 1870. Charlet is as yet unidentified but may have been a comrade, as Manet saw service during the siege of Paris in the winter of 1870-71. He wrote to his wife 'My soldier's knapsack serves...to hold everything necessary for painting. I shall soon start some sketches from life. They will be souvenirs that will one day have value.' This snow scene is one of Manet's earliest works painted out of doors. Gwendoline Davies purchased it at Paris in October 1912.
