The Laundry Boat on the Seine at Asnières (Primary Title)
"The Laundry Boat on the Seine"
"Bateau de Blanchisseuses sur la Seine"
(Former Title)
Vincent van Gogh, Dutch (active in France), 1853 - 1890 (Artist)
The Laundry Boat on the Seine at Asnières exemplifies some of the radical directions emerging from the paintings Van Gogh completed in Paris. In March 1886, Van Gogh left his native Netherlands to reunite with his brother, Theo, in the French capital. Soon after, he began meeting with several leading avant-garde artists whose works embodied strong reactions against the Impressionist tendencies that dominated the Parisian art world. In 1887, Van Gogh took up residence in Asnières, a northwestern suburb of Paris, and his encounters with Signac and Gaugin proved catalytic for the painter's developing practice. Gauguin shared Van Gogh's enthusiasm for 19th-century Japanese woodblock prints and emulated their large planes of color in his burgeoning Synthetism and Cloisonnism techniques. The compositional diagonals and strong contours in this painting recall both the distinctive divisions of the picture plane in Japanese landscapes and Gauguin’s simplified adaptation of these features. The scene's striking chromatic contrasts and thickly layered brushstrokes also point to Van Gogh's interest in the experiments with complementary colors Seurat and Signac were making in these years. The restaurant and park scenes and the views of the Seine that Van Gogh completed while living in Asnières began to demonstrate the indelible influence of Synthetism, Divisionism, and Pointillism even as a unique Post-Impressionist style was emerging in his paintings.
not signed
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon
"Van Gogh and the Avant-Garde: The Modern Landscape", Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, May 14 - September 4., 2023; The Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands, October 5, 2023 - January 14, 2024
"Van Gogh Monet Degas, The Mellon Collection of French Art from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts", Palazzo Zabarella, Padua, Italy, October 26, 2019 - March 1, 2020
"Van Gogh, Monet, Degas, and Their Times: The Mellon Collection of French Art from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts", Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN, February 2 - May 5, 2019; Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, MS, April 4, 2020 - January 10, 2021
"Van Gogh, Monet, Degas: The Mellon Collection of French Art from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts", The Frick Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, March 17 - July 15, 2018; Oklahoma Museum of Art, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, June 22 - September 22, 2019
"Friction of Ideas: Gauguin, Van Gogh, Bernard", Ordrupgaard Museum, Copenhagen, Feb. 6-June 22, 2014.
"Van Gogh", Albertina Museum, Vienna, Sept. 4-Dec. 7, 2008.
"Van Gogh", Fondation Pierre Gianadda, Martigny, Switzerland, June 21-Nov. 26, 2000.
"Degas", VMFA, May 23-July 9, 1978.
"French Paintings from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon and Mrs. Mellon Bruce", National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, March 17-May 1, 1966.
Exposition de Peinture Francaise de XIXe Siecle, E.J. Van Wisselingh and Co., Amsterdam, July 15-August 17, 1935, No. 18.
Zomer Tentoonstelling van Hollandsche en Fransche Schilderkunst der XiX and XX Eeuw, E.J. Van Wisselingh and Co., Amsterdam, July-August 1933, No. 48.
M. Goldschmidt Gallery, Frankfort am Main, March 15-April 15, 1928, No. 24.
Paul Cassirer Gallery, Berlin, Jan. 15-March 1, 1928.
Paul Cassirer Gallery, Berlin, May-June 1914, No. 29.
International Exhibition, Cologne, May 25-Sept. 30, 1912, No. 21.
"Van Gogh Monet Degas, The Mellon Collection of French Art from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts", Palazzo Zabarella, Padua, Italy, October 26, 2019 - March 1, 2020
"Van Gogh, Monet, Degas, and Their Times: The Mellon Collection of French Art from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts", Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN, February 2 - May 5, 2019; Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, MS, April 4, 2020 - January 10, 2021
"Van Gogh, Monet, Degas: The Mellon Collection of French Art from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts", The Frick Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, March 17 - July 15, 2018; Oklahoma Museum of Art, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, June 22 - September 22, 2019
"Friction of Ideas: Gauguin, Van Gogh, Bernard", Ordrupgaard Museum, Copenhagen, Feb. 6-June 22, 2014.
"Van Gogh", Albertina Museum, Vienna, Sept. 4-Dec. 7, 2008.
"Van Gogh", Fondation Pierre Gianadda, Martigny, Switzerland, June 21-Nov. 26, 2000.
"Degas", VMFA, May 23-July 9, 1978.
"French Paintings from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon and Mrs. Mellon Bruce", National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, March 17-May 1, 1966.
Exposition de Peinture Francaise de XIXe Siecle, E.J. Van Wisselingh and Co., Amsterdam, July 15-August 17, 1935, No. 18.
Zomer Tentoonstelling van Hollandsche en Fransche Schilderkunst der XiX and XX Eeuw, E.J. Van Wisselingh and Co., Amsterdam, July-August 1933, No. 48.
M. Goldschmidt Gallery, Frankfort am Main, March 15-April 15, 1928, No. 24.
Paul Cassirer Gallery, Berlin, Jan. 15-March 1, 1928.
Paul Cassirer Gallery, Berlin, May-June 1914, No. 29.
International Exhibition, Cologne, May 25-Sept. 30, 1912, No. 21.
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC
Some object records are not complete and do not reflect VMFA's full and current knowledge. VMFA makes routine updates as records are reviewed and enhanced.