A wet sidewalk is traversed by a long streak of light. The backlighting reduces the details; the light itself seems to become the central subject of the composition. This photograph demonstrates a search for atmosphere and a poetic composition rather than direct observation, an approach found in Jahan's other Parisian views.
Following his move to Paris in 1933, Pierre Jahan met Emmanuel Sougez, then director of the photographic department at the newspaper L’Illustration. It was on Sougez's advice that he decided to dedicate himself to photography professionally. At the same time, he worked as a freelance photographer, taking pictures of Paris at night.