Corot visited Avignon on a number of occasions, but this study probably belongs to a group made on a visit in the summer of 1836 which recapture the clarity and luminosity of his Italian views of 1825-8.

It depicts the town from Villeneuve-lès-Avignon on the other side of the Rhône. The buildings dominating the town are the papal palace and (left of centre) the cathedral, Notre-Dame des Doms.