Van Gogh and the Avant-Garde

An examination of the innovative portrayals of industry and leisure created by five avant-garde artists working at Asnieres in the late nineteenth century

From 1881 to 1890, Vincent van Gogh, Georges Seurat, Paul Signac, Emile Bernard, and Charles Angrand chose Asnieres, a suburb of Paris, as a site of artistic experimentation. Located on the Seine, Asnieres became a popular destination for Parisians thanks to aquatic sports and festivals starting in the 1850s, facilitated by the arrival of new train stations and bridges earlier in the century. This convenient new transportation system had beckoned Parisians to more distant destinations like Argenteuil and Bougival, resulting in the river scenes depicted by Impressionists like Monet and Renoir. At the same time, the idyllic landscape of Asnieres increasingly contrasted with the factories appearing on the opposite side of the river. Homing in on the tensions between leisure and work, the avant-garde artists at Asnieres sought to capture the feeling of this starkly modern landscape by developing innovative motifs, styles, and techniques that pushed their work in new directions. Offering an unprecedented in-depth look at the work produced by the artists at Asnieres, this handsomely illustrated volume includes scholarly essays on each of the artists as well as a map detailing the locations where the artists painted.

Exhibition Schedule:

Art Institute of Chicago
(May 14–September 4, 2023)
 
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
(October 13, 2023–January 14, 2024)

About the Authors

Bregje Gerritse is researcher at the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.

Jacquelyn N.

Coutre is Eleanor Wood Prince Associate Curator in Painting and Sculpture of Europe at the Art Institute of Chicago.