In Paris, between 1867 and 1878, Monet set up his easel in about a dozen different neighbourhoods. From the first works, painted in the company of Renoir from the columns of the Louvre, to the streets decorated with bunting in 1878 which brought to a magnificent conclusion these views of the capital, Monet only ever produced external views of Paris. In between the depictions of Boulevard des Capucines from 1873 and the excursions in Monceau Park and Tuileries Gardens are the illustrations of Saint-Lazare train station, the twelve paintings of which constitute the painter's first series.