This view of Notre Dame is by René Billotte (1846–1915) who was an artist who spent most of his career in Paris. It seems that the artist liked painting these rather murky weather conditions, the purchaser was not getting the cathedral at its best.
My thoughts looking at the painting in the gallery were really more along the lines of what was the artwork doing in Timișoara? The artist had no connection with Romania, the artwork is of Paris and it’s not a particularly uplifting painting in any event given that Billotte was deliberately trying to show the melancholy of the city.
So, I spent far more time than was really necessary wondering about why galleries display paintings and for what purpose they are on show. Perhaps the reality is simply that Timișoara Art Museum is just putting what it has on display to see what resonates, but it all felt a little out of place to me.
Once again, I dwell on whether I should get out more.