During the 19th century, the city of Paris was in the throes of intense change and rapid industrialization. Under Emperor Napoleon III, the city of Paris was renovated by tearing down old buildings and replacing them with new things like parks making the city more open and clean. In addition, the construction of railway lines allowed people to travel more easily making leisure activities, like boating, popular among Parisian vacationers. At the same time, the long rule of the traditional Salon – the academic and prestigious biennial art show put on by the Académie des Beaux-Arts – was being challenged by a new group of artists calling themselves “impressionists.” Instead of conforming to the traditional constraints of the Salon (naturalistic pieces, mythological subjects, lots of Venuses, etc.), the impressionists adopted a new style composed of short, choppy brush strokes and an emphasis on lighting and color. Instead of the mythological and historical subjects of traditional art, impressionists painted the landscapes, people, and changing environment around them. Of these subjects, the city of Argenteuil – a 15 minute train ride from Paris and tourist destination – became one of the most popular choices for impressionist artists. Argenteuil presented the perfect environment for impressionism: flowered fields, shimmering bodies of water, tourists, boats, railroads, and factories. Argenteuil was a place that simultaneously represented work and leisure, nature and industrialization. These subjects of change and modernity were the very ideas that Impressionists sought to represent in their work. The purpose of this curation is to recognize the city of Argenteuil as not only a popular Impressionist subject matter but as a cross section of the Impressionist movement. It’s a sad reality that Argenteuil would become a dumping ground for Paris’ sewage but fitting in that its fleeting beauty is the very idea that Impressionists sought to capture in shifting light and changing life.
Claude Monet, Poppy Fields near Argenteuil, 1875, Oil Painting, Metropolitan Museum of Art
In the summer of 1875, Monet painted four similar views of the poppy fields near Argenteuil. In one of these, Poppy Fields near Argenteuil, Monet depicts a field of flowers with two poplars on the left and a figure standing among the flowers on the right. The figure has been traditionally identified as Monet’s son Jean. The style here is the epitome of Impressionist art. The fragmented brush strokes in the sky give the illusion of swirling and dynamic clouds. The flowers in the foreground are just dabs of paint on the canvas. Instead of a naturalistic representation, Monet represents how the shifting light of the natural landscape interacts with our eyes.
Edouard Manet, The Monet Family in Their Garden at Argenteuil, 1874, Oil Painting, Metropolitan Museum of Art
This piece, by Edouard Manet, is an Impressionist depiction of Claude Monet’s family at Argenteuil in their garden. The subject matter here fits well with the common themes of Impressionist art, as Manet is depicting ordinary people reclining and enjoying leisure time in Argenteuil. Rather than painting mythological and historical figures like traditional artists of the Salon, Manet paints ordinary people living ordinary lives. The subject of people enjoying leisure is a popular Impressionist choice and can be seen here as well as in other depictions of Parisian tourists on vacation in Argenteuil.
Auguste Renoir, Sailboats at Argenteuil, 1874, Oil Painting, Portland Art Museum
During the late 19th century, the city of Argenteuil became a popular Parisian tourist destination. The advent of railways allowed quick and easy access to destinations like Argenteuil. Vacationers from Paris enjoyed leisure activities like boating which became a common impressionist painting subject. In this painting, Renoir depicts a group of people enjoying a leisurely day of sailing on a river in Argenteuil. Once again, the fractured brushstrokes give movement to the shimmering water. The peaceful beauty of this scene contrasts greatly with the rapid industrialization that was occurring at the same time.
Claude Monet, The Railroad Bridge at Argenteuil, 1874, Oil Painting, Philadelphia Museum of Art
In the 1860’s and 70’s Monet depicted the subject of industrial France so common to impressionist paintings at the time. In this painting, industrialization is represented in the form of a railroad bridge crossing a river in Argenteuil. It was railways like these that would bring tourists from Paris to vacation and enjoy leisure time at Argenteuil. These railways also served the factories that began popping up in the area. The impressionist style is obvious in the choppy brushstrokes that make up the surface of the water and the plume of smoke rising from the train. The style emphasizes the movement in the shimmer of light on the water and of the train on the bridge. Not only does the painting depict modernity reaching Argenteuil but also emphasizes the effects of light and motion – another facet of impressionism.
Gustave Caillebotte, Factories at Argenteuil, 1888, Oil Painting, Private Collection
Gustave Caillebotte, another impressionist artist, depicts here another example of the industrialization that France was experiencing at the time. We see a factory on a river bank with plumes of smoke rising up into the air. The use of choppy brushstrokes breaks up the reflection of the smokestacks in the surface of the water. The plumes of smoke shift and swirl in the sky above. This painting can also be viewed in light of the environmental effects of industrialization on Argenteuil. Note how this piece is much more grey in color than other depictions of Argenteuil. The city became the victim of sewage from industrialized Paris and the pollution depicted here stands in stark contrast to the bright flowery fields and landscapes of other pieces from the same city.
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