The Salon de Paris was an art expo put on by the French Academy of Arts, and was considered the greatest of the western world for a period of about 140 years, ending in the 1890s. They considered it their duty to uphold the traditions of the art it was built upon.
In 1863, after a staggering amount of rejections that appalled the art community, Napoleon himself stepped in. After viewing the art he decreed that the public be allowed to view the rejected works, and thus the “Salon of the Refused” was born. For the first time, the works of revolutionary style were seen by the public.
These works rejected many of the traditional norms of the past such as:
A restricted color pallet
Recognizable Historical or Mythological figures
All work be done in a studio
The works should attempt to hide the strokes of the artist to appear as real as possible
Instead, the rejected works
Used vibrant colors - a biproduct of the Industrial Revolution, not previously available
Depicted scenes of common people in their normal settings
They were painted outdoors rather than the style of the time - to sketch outside and paint in the studio
The strokes were part of the work, and were not attempted to be covered up
Claude Monet was the most prolific creator of this new style of art, later dubbed Impressionism via a harsh critical review. In the Rue Montorgueil all these attributes are recognizable. Notice the vibrant colors, the indistinct people, the feel of being outdoors, the brushstrokes adding an element of excitement to the scene.