Le Moulin de la Galette (Van Gogh series)
Encyclopedia
Le Moulin de la Galette is the subject and title of several paintings made by Vincent van Gogh
in 1886 of a windmill. The Moulin de la Galette
was near Van Gogh's apartment with his brother, Theo
in Montmartre
. The owners of the windmill maximized the view on a butte overlooking Paris, creating a terrace for viewing and a dance hall for entertainment. The windmill paintings are a subset of paintings from Montmartre (Van Gogh series)
.
. While van Gogh had been influenced by great masters in Holland, coming to Paris meant that he would have the opportunity to be influenced by Impressionists
, Symbolists
, Pointillists
, and Japanese art. His circle of friends included Émile Bernard
, Paul Gauguin
, Camille Pissarro
, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
, and others.
Montmartre
, sitting on a butte
overlooking Paris, was known for its bars, cafes, and dance-hall. It was also located on the edge of countryside that afforded van Gogh the opportunity to work on paintings of rural settings while living in Paris.
The landscape and windmills around Montmartre were the source of inspiration for a number of van Gogh's paintings. Moulin de la Galette
, still standing, is located near the apartment that van Gogh shared with his brother Theo from 1886 until 1888. Built in 1622, it was originally called Blute-Fin and belonged to the Debray family in the 19th century. Van Gogh met artists such as Toulouse-Lautrec, Paul Signac
and Paul Gauguin who inspired him to incorporate Impressionism into his artwork that, among other things, resulted in lighter, more colorful works of art.
Moulin de la Galette was also the name of an outdoor dance hall that was located between two of the last windmills on a Montmartre hilltop. In addition to van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec and Pierre-Auguste Renoir
also painted Moulin de la Galette. Renoir's painting of the dance hall is titled Bal du moulin de la Galette.
, the street in which he lived with Theo. The painting features the Moulin de Blute-Fin, a 17th century grain-mill, which was an attraction for its views of Paris. At this time there were three windmills on the butte, but this was the windmill van Gogh favored as a subject for his paintings. Moulin a Poivre, a second windmill, is just inside the left frame of the painting on the horizon. The painting was sold by Scottish art dealer Alex Reid to William McInnes and with van Gogh's Portrait of Alexander Reid is in the collection of Glasgow Museums.
Le Moulin de la Gillette (F348) is an example how van Gogh used a technique for heavily applying paint called impasto that it created a relief effect, partly to convey emotion. The brushstrokes in the windmill and doorsteps are noticeable. The faces of the two people were created with just a couple of brushstrokes.
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
in 1886 of a windmill. The Moulin de la Galette
Moulin de la Galette
The Moulin de la Galette is a windmill and associated businesses situated near the top of the district of Montmartre in Paris. Since the 17th century the windmill has been known for more than just its milling capabilities...
was near Van Gogh's apartment with his brother, Theo
Theo van Gogh (art dealer)
Theodorus "Theo" van Gogh was a Dutch art dealer. He was the younger brother of Vincent van Gogh, and Theo's unfailing financial and emotional support allowed his brother to devote himself entirely to painting...
in Montmartre
Montmartre
Montmartre is a hill which is 130 metres high, giving its name to the surrounding district, in the north of Paris in the 18th arrondissement, a part of the Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on its summit and as a nightclub district...
. The owners of the windmill maximized the view on a butte overlooking Paris, creating a terrace for viewing and a dance hall for entertainment. The windmill paintings are a subset of paintings from Montmartre (Van Gogh series)
Montmartre (Van Gogh series)
The Montmartre paintings are a group of works that Vincent van Gogh made in 1886 and 1887 of the Paris district of Montmartre while living there with his brother Theo. Rather than capture urban settings in Paris, Van Gogh preferred pastoral scenes, such as Montmartre and Asnières in the northwest...
.
Paris
In 1886 van Gogh left Holland for Paris and the guidance of his brother Theo van GoghTheo van Gogh (art dealer)
Theodorus "Theo" van Gogh was a Dutch art dealer. He was the younger brother of Vincent van Gogh, and Theo's unfailing financial and emotional support allowed his brother to devote himself entirely to painting...
. While van Gogh had been influenced by great masters in Holland, coming to Paris meant that he would have the opportunity to be influenced by Impressionists
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
, Symbolists
Symbolism (arts)
Symbolism was a late nineteenth-century art movement of French, Russian and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts. In literature, the style had its beginnings with the publication Les Fleurs du mal by Charles Baudelaire...
, Pointillists
Pointillism
Pointillism is a technique of painting in which small, distinct dots of pure color are applied in patterns to form an image. Georges Seurat developed the technique in 1886, branching from Impressionism. The term Pointillism was first coined by art critics in the late 1880s to ridicule the works...
, and Japanese art. His circle of friends included Émile Bernard
Émile Bernard
Émile Henri Bernard is known as a Post-Impressionist painter who had artistic friendships with Van Gogh, Gauguin and Eugene Boch, and at a later time, Cézanne. Most of his notable work was accomplished at a young age, in the years 1886 through 1897. He is also associated with Cloisonnism and...
, Paul Gauguin
Paul Gauguin
Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin was a leading French Post-Impressionist artist. He was an important figure in the Symbolist movement as a painter, sculptor, print-maker, ceramist, and writer...
, Camille Pissarro
Camille Pissarro
Camille Pissarro was a French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of St Thomas . His importance resides in his contributions to both Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, as he was the only artist to exhibit in both forms...
, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa or simply Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, and illustrator, whose immersion in the colourful and theatrical life of fin de siècle Paris yielded an œuvre of exciting, elegant and provocative images of the modern...
, and others.
Montmartre
Montmartre
Montmartre is a hill which is 130 metres high, giving its name to the surrounding district, in the north of Paris in the 18th arrondissement, a part of the Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on its summit and as a nightclub district...
, sitting on a butte
Butte
A butte is a conspicuous isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; it is smaller than mesas, plateaus, and table landform tables. In some regions, such as the north central and northwestern United States, the word is used for any hill...
overlooking Paris, was known for its bars, cafes, and dance-hall. It was also located on the edge of countryside that afforded van Gogh the opportunity to work on paintings of rural settings while living in Paris.
The landscape and windmills around Montmartre were the source of inspiration for a number of van Gogh's paintings. Moulin de la Galette
Moulin de la Galette
The Moulin de la Galette is a windmill and associated businesses situated near the top of the district of Montmartre in Paris. Since the 17th century the windmill has been known for more than just its milling capabilities...
, still standing, is located near the apartment that van Gogh shared with his brother Theo from 1886 until 1888. Built in 1622, it was originally called Blute-Fin and belonged to the Debray family in the 19th century. Van Gogh met artists such as Toulouse-Lautrec, Paul Signac
Paul Signac
Paul Signac was a French neo-impressionist painter who, working with Georges Seurat, helped develop the pointillist style.-Biography:Paul Victor Jules Signac was born in Paris on 11 November 1863...
and Paul Gauguin who inspired him to incorporate Impressionism into his artwork that, among other things, resulted in lighter, more colorful works of art.
Moulin de la Galette was also the name of an outdoor dance hall that was located between two of the last windmills on a Montmartre hilltop. In addition to van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec and Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty, and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "Renoir is the final representative of a tradition which runs directly from Rubens to...
also painted Moulin de la Galette. Renoir's painting of the dance hall is titled Bal du moulin de la Galette.
Three paintings with similar compositions
In van Gogh’s first year in Paris he painted rural areas around Montmartre, such as the butte and its windmills. The colors are somber and evoke a sense of his anxiety and loneliness.Other paintings titled Le Moulin de la Galette
Le Moulin de la Galette, also called The Blute-Fin Windmill, Montmartre (F274) reflects van Gogh's artistic transition from his work in Holland which was somber and heavy. Influenced by Impressionism, van Gogh's painted this work with lighter colors and unrestrained brushstrokes to capture light and movement. Van Gogh made the painting from an empty lot on rue LepicRue Lepic
Rue Lepic is an ancient road in the commune of Montmartre, in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, climbing the hill of Montmartre from the boulevard de Clichy to the place Jean-Baptiste-Clément...
, the street in which he lived with Theo. The painting features the Moulin de Blute-Fin, a 17th century grain-mill, which was an attraction for its views of Paris. At this time there were three windmills on the butte, but this was the windmill van Gogh favored as a subject for his paintings. Moulin a Poivre, a second windmill, is just inside the left frame of the painting on the horizon. The painting was sold by Scottish art dealer Alex Reid to William McInnes and with van Gogh's Portrait of Alexander Reid is in the collection of Glasgow Museums.
Le Moulin de la Gillette (F348) is an example how van Gogh used a technique for heavily applying paint called impasto that it created a relief effect, partly to convey emotion. The brushstrokes in the windmill and doorsteps are noticeable. The faces of the two people were created with just a couple of brushstrokes.