Anthony, born in Manchester and trained in Paris, was at Fontainebleau in 1837 with the first generation of Barbizon painters. There he absorbed the influence of Jules Dupré, whose sonorous sunsets were often painted out-of-doors from nature. In England, Anthony was hailed as the heir to Constable (who had died in 1837), and mixed with the Pre-Raphaelites. Madox Brown was a particular friend.

Anthony exhibited two paintings of the environs of Paris at the Royal Society of Artists in 1841 - one of these was a view of Melun, on the Seine (no 289), just north of Fontainebleu. The radiance of the sun reflects on the Seine and creates resonant shadows in the foreground. The red cap of one of the figures in the foreground is a direct nod to Constable, but the visionary sky is unrestrainedly Romantic, in the French manner.

Dr Thomas Turton, the first owner of this painting, was well known, as was his collection.