Stuart Davis visited Paris for the first and only time in 1928-29. He arrived in the “city of light” already confident in developing his distinctive style, informed by the speed, lights, and sounds of life in New York City and especially by Cubism. Once abroad, Davis applied his understanding of Cubism’s compressed space to the French city’s network of narrow streets. Rue de l’Echaudé, based on this urban landscape, is one of a series of richly textured compositions inspired by his French experience.