Art + Paris Impressionist North of Paris and Normandy: Along the Seine and Normandy

By Museyon

An extended-travel journey through the French countryside, exploring Normandy and the quaint Paris suburbs where the Impressionists learned to paint en plein air, out in the open air. Explore the beautiful villages and cities including Auvers-sur-Oise, Giverny, Rouen, Le Havre, Etretat, Honfleur and more.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Museyon
• Release date: Jan 1, 2013
• ISBN: 9781938450303

Book preview

North of Paris and Normandy

Along the Seine

Auvers-sur-Oise

Chatou

Argenteuil

Pontoise

Vétheuil

Normandy

Giverny

Rouen

Le Havre & Sainte-Adresse

Étretat

Honfleur & Trouville

Fécamp, Dieppe, Éragny

Throughout the 19th century, Parisians began looking outside the city for respite from their increasingly modern city. Beaches and the banks of the Seine became popular places for weekend getaways, aided by the arrival of rail service from Paris. The Impressionists, too, looked beyond the city’s borders for fresh air and inspiration. These artists were united in their appreciation of landscape and depictions of modern life, as well as a commitment to outdoor, plein air painting. Outside of the Paris, these artists reveled in nature, embracing the region’s shifting light and bountiful flora.

This tour heads north from Paris, through the suburbs where Monet and Renoir once worked, to Normandy, a scenic seaside retreat captured in many Impressionist masterpieces.

Auvers-sur-Oise

Auvers is really beautiful—among other things many old thatched roofs, which are becoming rare.

—Vincent van Gogh

Set in the Oise Valley, just 30 km (16.9 mi) north of Paris, the town of Auvers-sur-Oise brims with quaint charm. One hundred and fifty years after the first Impressionist artists arrived here to paint its picturesque landscape, Auvers still retains its natural beauty, as well as many of its original 19th-century buildings. The town remains virtually unchanged from the days of Vincent van Gogh and Paul Cézanne, allowing visitors to see nearly the same exact scenes the artists painted.

Upon arriving in Auvers-sur-Oise on May 20, 1880, Van Gogh wrote to his brother and sister-in-law Jo his first impressions of the town:

I’d hope, then, that in doing a few canvases of that really seriously, there would be a chance of recouping some of the costs of my stay—for really it’s gravely beautiful, it’s the heart of the countryside, distinctive and picturesque.

This arrival marked the beginning of Van Gogh’s last 70 days; he shot himself on July 27. While staying in Auvers, Van Gogh was inspired to paint over 70 works including The Church at Auvers, Daubigny’s Garden and, most famously, Wheatfield with Crows. Van Gogh came to Auvers to be treated by Dr. Paul Gachet, who was a collector and close friend of many Impressionists. Gachet lived here with his family three days a week and practiced medicine in Paris the rest of the time. While in Auvers, Cézanne also took full advantage of Dr. Gachet’s hospitality.

In 1872, Cézanne joined Camille Pissarro in Pontoise with Marie-Hortense Fiquet and their newborn son.

ACCESS:

There is direct service to Auverssur-Oise from Paris, Gare du Nord on the Transilien suburban rail line. The trip takes about 30 minutes.

TIMELINE

1854

Daubingny (1818-1878) comes to Auvers where he meets Cézanne. Daumier and Corot often join him, being influenced by Daubingny’s style of painting en plein air.

April 9th, 1872

Dr. Paul-Ferdinand Gachet moves to Auvers-sur-Oise, purchasing his now-famous maison.

1872—1874

Cézanne moves to Auvers for 18 months. With the influence of Pissarro and Impressionist collector Dr. Gachet, Cézanne painted his first Impressionist work here, The Hanged Man’s House.

1877

Pissarro, Cézanne and Gauguin spend the summer painting together in and around Auvers.

May 20th, 1890

Vincent van Gogh moves to Auvers where he befriends Dr. Gachet. He spends the final 70 days of his life here, dying by a self-inflicted gunshot wound on July 29th, 1890.

1900s

After the Impressionists leave, many other artists live or spend time in Auvers, including Rajon, Goeneutte, Vignon, Beauverie, Maximilien Luce, Giran Max, Spraque Pearce, Boggio, Otto Freundlich and Henri Rousseau.

Early in 1873, Cézanne moved to Auvers, a few miles up from Pontoise, and worked in Dr. Gachet’s house for 18 months. It is in Auvers where Cézanne painted two of his most celebrated works, A Modern Olympia (which Dr. Gachet acquired) and The Hanged Man’s House. It is said that the Barbizon painter Charles-François Daubigny once watched Cézanne work here and could not restrain his enthusiasm. I’ve just seen on the bank of the Oise an extraordinary piece of work, he told a friend. It is by a young and unknown man: a certain Cézanne!