A wide, hazy panorama of Paris stretches beneath a vast, overcast sky, seen from the heights of Montmartre. The foreground is marked by rooftops rendered in loose, horizontal strokes of grey, ochre, and brown, with scattered orange chimney pots punctuating the scene. Buildings cluster thickly below, their forms simplified into blocks and patches, while thin columns of smoke rise from chimneys and dissolve into the pale atmosphere.

The city recedes into a bluish-grey distance, with only the faintest suggestion of landmarks, swallowed by the shimmering, smoky air. Above, the sky dominates more than half the canvas, filled with swirling, creamy brushstrokes that capture the restless movement of clouds and the diffused light of late summer. The paint is applied with energetic, visible strokes, especially in the sky, where thick, impasto marks create a sense of motion and changing weather.

The palette is subdued, with cool greys, soft blues, and muted ochres, giving the city a sense of quiet and distance under the heavy sky. Small touches of green and red appear in the lower left, hinting at vegetation and rooftops on the Montmartre slope. A windmill with long, dark blades stands at the far left edge of the painting, partially obscured by the buildings in front of it.

Near the lower left corner, a patch of earth-toned ground slopes upward, contrasting with the cool hues of the rooftops. Clusters of small, dark vertical lines throughout the city suggest distant chimneys or antennae rising above the rooftops. In the lower right corner, a tall, black chimney stands out sharply against the lighter buildings around it.

The light falls unevenly across the scene, with the tops of some chimneys and roof ridges catching subtle highlights from the overcast sky. Loose, horizontal strokes in the middle and lower foreground suggest the presence of narrow streets or alleys winding between the buildings. The paint application becomes thinner and more diffuse toward the horizon, with the background buildings dissolving into indistinct, bluish-grey smudges. The work is a cityscape, depicting Montmartre and its buildings, as described in the museum’s records.