I had prepared something else, but...

Large crowds gathered in French cities, Berlin, London... (photos from "Le Monde").

... John Kerry speaking in French.

Vincent van Gogh's Paris years

Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) really started painting in his late twenties and most of his famous works date from the last couple of years of his too short life - he died at 37. He had spent his younger years working for art dealers, wishing to become a pastor, working as a missionary… and doing some art studies. Then, he decided to become an artist. His first major painting may be The Potato Eaters from 1885 – he was 32. In March 1886 he moved to Paris, sharing a flat with his younger brother Theo, first for a short while to an address at rue Laval (today rue Victor Massé), then for a longer period at rue Lepic, with interruptions for stays with his painter friend (rather parents of) Emile Bernard in the northern suburb Asnières. He left Paris for Arles in February 1888. This post will give some glimpses of his Paris period, which consequently lasted more or less two years.

Of the more than 800 oil paintings known by Vincent, some 225-230 are from the Paris period, some 330 from the short Arles – St. Remy period and close to 80 from the last Auvers-sur-Oise months – an enormous production over just a few years, not mentioning drawings, watercolours….

We can see how his art developed during the two Paris years, from rather dark to much brighter, influenced by impressionism and more particularly by some post-impressionist friends…

… and probably also by a few months at the Atelier Cormon, where he studied, met and became friends with other artists like Toulouse-Lautrec, Emile Bernard… (Some pretend that Vincent is in the front row in the photo below, but this seems hardly possible - the photo obviously dates from a year before Vincent’s arrival in Paris.)

Living at rue Lepic (see previous post), it was obvious and easy for Vincent to paint Montmartre. Here are some windmill examples, especially of course mainly concerning the Moulin de la Galette ones – Blute-fin and Radet…

… but there are many other Montmartre ones….

… e.g. the garden of this restaurant which looks different today (especially a winter day).

He also already showed an interest in sunflowers…

… and made some visits elsewhere around Paris.

This is where he stayed with Theo, rue Lepic. He painted the view from the windows at least twice.

Theo later moved to another address, Cité Pigalle. Vincent made short visits here on his return from the south and when living in Auvers-sur-Oise.

There are also some other Vincent-linked addresses in the Montmartre – Pigalle area:

Vincent became friends with Julien (Père) Tanguy, who sold painting equipment and exhibited Vincent’s works, especially the ones influenced by Japanese prints. In this portrait which Vincent made of his friend (he made at least two more), we can also see in the background some examples of Vincent’s works inspired by Japanese masters like Hiroshige (1797-1858), Toyokuni (1769-1825), Eisen (1790-1848)…  He sold nothing.

Vincent also exhibited in a café, called Le Tambourin, on Boulevard de Clichy, belonging to a lady called Agostina Segatori (who had modelled for Manet and others). Again, nothing was sold. But Vincent painted Agostina and Toulouse-Lautrec (who also exhibited here) painted Vincent.

Vincent together with some friends (again Emile Bernard, Toulouse-Lautrec and others) also showed their paintings at the Bouillon-Restaurant du Chalet on Avenue de Clichy… and once again he didn’t sell anything, but some of his friends did.

Here we can see where the above-mentioned spots in the Montmartre-Pigalle are to be found. However, of course, the cafés - and sometimes even the buildings – are gone.

What did Vincent look like? Here we can see some of the self-portraits he did during the two Paris years.

There are few photos of him, only one in adult age, unfortunately we see him only from the back, discussing with his friend Emile Bernard. (There is one photo who some claim to be him at the age of 34 or 35, but this is contested.)

Emile Bernard (1868-1941), who we can see in the photo with Vincent, then only 20 years old, was a close friend and Vincent spent much time at Asnières, a northern suburb on the Seine banks, where Emile then lived with his parents.

Before showing some works, here I have tried to spot where some of the paintings from this neighbourhood were made – and also where the photo of Emile Bernard and Vincent was taken. 

It's not easy to find the same angle, the Seine banks have changed considerably.

Vincent and Emile were obviously separated by a few meters when they made these ones of the railway bridge with the Pont d’Asnières in the background.

As I said, the banks have changed a lot, the nice restaurants are gone… 

From what we can see on the above detailed map, a bridge, Pont de Clichy, is not there anymore – has been replaced. From an island which has also gone or from the opposite bank, Vincent has painted two buildings which still stand there, but they seem less high; the bottom floors are now underground.

Here we are close to what later became a pet cemetery (see previous post) and a little park (Voyer d’Argenson) which used to surround a castle.  

I think something should be said about Emile Bernard here, who proved to be a very good friend and did a lot to promote Vincent’s works after his too early death. Emile had a different style, more related to Gauguin – another friend of his and for a while to Vincent. It may be referred to as “cloisonnisme” with more bold and flat forms. We can already see this in the above painting of the bridges.

Vincent wrote hundreds of letters to his brother, family and friends, in Dutch, in English, in French.  Another proof of the friendship between Vincent and Emile may be these letters by Vincent to Emile where he during his Arles period explains what he’s painting.

Emile was also, with Pisarro, Père Tanguy… present during Vincent’s funeral at the end of July 1890 at Auvers-sur-Oise. He also made a painting of the event. Of course his greatest supporter, his brother Theo, was also there. He died only a few months later.  Vincent was treated by Docteur Gachet, a friend of many painters and an amateur painter himself – who made the portrait of Vincent, beardless, on his deathbed.

Well, one painting by Vincent was sold during his lifetime, a few months before his death, The Red Vineyard, painted in Arles. It was bought by Anna Boch, artist herself and sister of Vincent’s friend Eugène Boch. It was exhibited in Brussels and sold for 400 francs (something like 1500-2000 € or 1800-2400 $ in today’s value?). 

        

Holiday break

Yes, time to take a little break. I plan to be back of course, in the beginning of 2015.

In the background you have a glimpse of my 96 posts (97 including this one) this year.  Adding my previous blog and since spring 2007 I have made some 1.100 posts. I appreciate a lot noticing a steadily increased audience with a peak of about 90.000 page views in October, but I appreciate especially all new friends blogging has brought. I have even had the privilege to meet many of you personally, to visit some of you, to travel with some of you… So, let’s wish ourselves a continued good blogging year in 2015 !!

Place de la Concorde decorations

A day with very mixed weather and heavy winds - all the chairs of the Tuileries Gardens (see previous posts) were empty - I crossed the Place de la Concorde (see previous posts) …

… and thought I should have a closer look on the two fountains, looking very similar to each other but supposed to be different. One, the northern one, is dedicated to “River Commerce and Navigation” and the southern one to “Maritime Commerce and Industry” – whatever difference this really means. They have been here since 1840. A reason for the naval aspect of the fountains was obviously the Ministry of Navy  building (Hôtel de la Marine) overlooking the Place since the middle of the 18^th century (see previous post). The design is by Jacques Ignace Hittorff (1797-1867). I talked about him in a previous post, referring to the number of projects where he was involved (Gare du Nord, the buildings around Place de l’Etoile, the Cirque d’Hiver…).

Twelve different sculptors worked on the statuary of the fountains.

So where are the differences?

I noted that the front, lower row, statues are exactly the same in both fountains (the northern one on top, the southern one below)...

… but when it comes to the second and third rows, there are actually some differences.

Anyhow, whatever the theme and the slight differences may be – or not – the fountains are beautiful, even more so at night and when the water jets are in operation – see an old picture on top.

Also initiated by Hittorff are the the eight statues (four different sculptors) you can find in each angle of the Place, each representing a French city. Someone had put red noses on two of them.

To finish with the decoration of the Place – of course not neglecting the obelisk in the middle of the Place (see previous post) – the Marly Horses (Chevaux de Marly) should also be mentioned. There are four of them, originally created for the suburb Marly Castle in 1745, transferred here in 1794, but because of deterioration replaced by copies in concrete in 1984. The original marble ones are preserved at the Louvre Museum. 

  

Picasso Museum reopened

As I mentioned in a previous post, the Paris Picasso Museum opened to public again at the end of October, after five years of renovation – the double in time and costs of what was planned.

One may ask the question, why this 17^th century building in the Marais – Hôtel Salé - was chosen for the Picasso collection. It took six years to prepare the first opening in 1985 and now another five years to remodel and create more space. It has obviously been a difficult task to preserve some of the old classified interiors and at the same time create space, making the art visible. A simpler, modern, building, more adapted to Picasso’s art might have been a better – and cheaper solution? Anyhow, much more space has now been made available to accommodate the world’s biggest Picasso collection, with some 500 Picasso works exhibited, based on donations (tax issues) by Picasso and his heirs – and you can also see part of Picasso’s private collection – which included Corot, Cézanne, Degas, Gauguin, Matisse, Renoir, Le Douanier Rousseau, Chirico, Braque, Giacometti...  

You may have expected a chronological presentation (like at the nice Picasso Museum in Barcelona) – the early years followed by the blue and rose periods, the African-influenced period, by the cubism… but the logic here is often different, more following themes, meaning that a painting from 1895 may be the immediate neighbour of one from 1971. Some people were accompanied by guides. It may be a good solution for the understanding of the presentation.

You are allowed to take photos and I took many, but as most of the art is protected by glass, the reflections make it rather impossible to obtain decent pictures. Anyhow, it’s easy to find good illustrations on the net…

One detail:  You can find the African masks, which we also can see on a photo taken in his little workshop at Bateau Lavoir (see previous post) and which inspired his African period - and the creation of what may be considered as the first cubism painting, from 1907 (not here – at MMA), known as the “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon” – actually first called “The Brothel of Avignon” referring to an address in Barcelona, Carrer d'Avinyó.

I wish to draw your attention to the fact that although the official closing hour is 6 pm, rooms start to get evacuated at 5:40 pm – I could not visit some last rooms.