Commentary: Paris

Vincent van Gogh Boulevard de Clichy 1887 oil on canvas Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)

A striking aspect in Van Gogh's life was his restlessness, and after living with his family in Nuenen for two years, he was ready for another move. By this time his brother Theo was established in Paris as an art dealer, and Theo encouraged Van Gogh to join him there. Nineteenth-century Paris was the center of the Western art world, and artists from America, Japan, Scandinavia, and elsewhere came there to study. Theo thought his brother would benefit from being in this exciting environment and would have an opportunity to interact with other artists for the first time since leaving The Hague.

Van Gogh arrived in Paris in March 1886 and would stay almost two years. Through Theo's gallery he had the opportunity to see the work of his longtime favorites, Millet, Daumier, and Camille Corot, which he had known primarily through prints until that time. He had not had access, in Nuenen or The Hague, to contemporary French art. But in Paris he could see the creations of the avant-garde, particularly the impressionists.

The eighth and final impressionist exhibition was held in Paris in May and June 1886. Van Gogh saw works by artists such as Edgar Degas and Paul Gauguin, who would later become a friend. He also saw the paintings of younger artists such as Georges Seurat and Paul Signac, now known as pointillists or neo-impressionists. Their innovations would have a profound influence on Van Gogh's still-forming artistic sensibility. The Second Exhibition of the Society of Independents was held in Paris in August 1886; it included works by Seurat and Signac. New art was very much on display, and Van Gogh was fascinated by the variety of styles he was viewing.

Van Gogh made a number of acquaintances in Paris. He briefly took some formal training at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, entering the studio of a rather traditional academic artist, Fernand Cormon. This was not a successful venture, in part because of the instructor's conservatism, but also because Van Gogh, at age thirty-four, was nearly ten years older than most of the other students. In Cormon's studio, however, he became friendly with Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Emile Bernard. Through them he was drawn to a vibrant circle of young artists, including Gauguin, Signac, and Seurat.

The first thing one notices in Boulevard de Clichy is how dramatically Van Gogh's work changed in Paris. This canvas represents a subject that was popular among young avant-garde artists: the new Paris, with its wide boulevards created by the urban renewal efforts of Baron Haussman in the 1850s and 1860s. It celebrated a new world that was full of potential and excitement. Impressionist artists who treated this theme included Gustave Caillebotte and Auguste Renoir, whose work Van Gogh would have known.

Drawing on his own experience, Van Gogh depicts a scene around the corner from his apartment. It is a view of the Boulevard de Clichy in Montmartre, which was then an enclave for young bohemian artists. The view is from the Place Blanche, footsteps away from the apartment he was sharing with Theo on the rue Lépic. He would have passed the spot daily.

This urban subject is not the only mark of change in Van Gogh's art; his colors and technique have also shifted. The palette that had been so dark during his Dutch period has now become lighter. Van Gogh was exploring pastel tones -- soft blues, yellows, pinks -- that are clearer and more peaceful, very much in keeping with the luminous air one finds in Paris. This reflected the way the city looked, as well as the artist's brighter outlook. His technique has also become lighter. The dark, heavy brushwork of The Potato Eaters gives way to a more fluid, softer, faster touch. The formerly raw passages yield to long and sweeping or dashlike brushstrokes. His strokes later became shorter, as he fell under the sway of the impressionists, then of the pointillists. The dashes were transformed into dots and shorter dashes, creating an impression of flickering light and color. Light and color became more clearly expressive vehicles of both subject and emotions. He was caught up in this exciting art world, and the energy is visible in his handling of the brush.

previous | next | image overview Commentary | Activities | Study Sources | Pronunciation Guide