Bridges across the Seine at Asnieres 1887

What strikes you about this work? Painted by Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) in 1887, ‘Bridges Across the Seine at Asnières’ depicts the industrial architecture across the River Seine. The river runs through the centre of Paris. Between 1886 and 1888, Van Gogh lived in the French capital. Here, he was fully immersed in the avant-garde art styles of Impressionism and Pointillism. Can you see the influence of these movements in this painting? Take a look at the dappled rays of pale yellow seeping through the clouds in the upper right section of the canvas, and the warm reflections on the water in the right foreground. Van Gogh’s creative treatment of light is especially Impressionistic. His signature blocky, disconnected brushstrokes are also reminiscent of the tiny, dotted technique adopted by the Pointillists. These visible brushstrokes create an impression of rapid movement, which captures the bustling energy of the city. 🌆 As well as acting as a hub for artistic innovation in the late nineteenth century, Paris was a centre of industrialisation. Here, Van Gogh contrasts the warm and cheery colours of the sailboats with the dark black shades of the steam train. What might he be suggesting about the industrial transformations of methods of transport? 🚂 Perhaps best known for his landscape paintings, Vincent Van Gogh was a keen defender of nature. ‘If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere’, he wrote in a letter to his brother Theo. Here, the artist explores the relationship between the natural world and industrialisation. He would return to this subject several times during his stay in Paris. 🏭 Van Gogh painted ‘Bridges Across the Seine at Asnières’ from the actual view of the landscape – ‘en plein air’, or in the open air. This allowed him to study the effects of light and atmosphere, which would not be possible in an artificial studio setting. However, he wrote that he was often disrupted by bouts of poor weather. 🌦️ Editor: Lucy Jude Grantham