Following the Impressionist Painters of Paris

Mummy brought a book with us to Paris called, “The Impressionists’ PARIS Walking Tours of the Painters’ Studios, Homes, and the  Sites They Painted.” It’s a tiny little book with 4 interesting walks that you can take… and see the scenes of PARIS through the eyes of some of the greatest artists of all time. There are tiny cafés of interest added along the route so that you can stop for a rest and reflect on what you have seen so far. We have done MAP 1 so far and Mummy’s goal is to complete the 4 maps before we head back home. I will review with you some of the things we saw on our FIRST excursion… since I can appreciate art so much MORE after this tour. The photos that I have included in this post that correspond with the picture that Mummy took, were taken from the walking tour book. There are lots of examples of the artists’ paintings in the book so that you can “see” what was inspiring them!

I have numbered the sites 1-4 and included the artist’s painted canvas and Mummy’s photo. Get ready for a history lesson in this post… there is NO QUIZ at the end so I hope you will enjoy learning a little, like we did.

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#1: The canvas seen here was painted by Renoir and is called “Pont des Arts” c. 1867-68. It is one of the earlist Impressionist pictures of the city of Paris. Mummy and I stood on the Pont des Arts bridge and faced east, looking toward the very scene thst was painted so very long ago. Many buildings have been erected since this time but in Mummy’s picture, in the very background, you can see the tiny top of the domed building that is very clear on the right side of Renoir’s painting. There are lots of trees now along the Seine River to give shade along the quai Malaquais. The Impressionist painters of this time faced much rejection for their work and it was universally ridiculed, even if they were lucky enough to be able to exhibit somewhere. Renoir was one of the “poorest” of the artists, as was Monet. This painting by Renoir sold for only 70 francs in 1875, and did nothing to help his financial situation.

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#2: This picture was painted by Monet from the center of the museum balcony, giving him a high vantage point. Mummy and I didn’t have quite this view, but you can still see the similarities in the pictures. Monet titled his canvas, “Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois” c. 1867.  This is the Gothic church just across from the Louvre.  Every Ash Wednesday, a special service for artists is held in this church. ❤

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#3: At the corner of the quai du Louvre and the rue de l’Admiral de Coligny is the east facade of the Louvre museum. Monet would paint three different canvases in 1867 from this location. He was granted permission to paint INSIDE the Louvre but like many of the Impressionist painters, he had no interest in copying the “Old Masters”… he wanted to paint what was right in front of him and he set up his easel INSIDE the Louvre from this vantage point at the corner, looking OUT onto the streets of the city!!!  One of Monet’s favorite things to paint was the Seine River, and he would paint it over 200 times during his career.

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#4: This is “Pont Neuf” which means NEW BRIDGE… although it is one of the OLDEST bridges in the city. It was completed in 1607. Renoir (picture 1) and Monet (picture 2) both painted canvases of Pont Neuf and include glimpses of it in many of their paintings. These two paintings are looking across the bridge at almost the exact location, but where Renoir features a bright blue sky with people on a relaxing stroll, holding parasols… Monet paints a cloudy overcast sky with a rushed feeling and umbrellas.

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We were only able to take a picture of the side of the bridge because a Jewelry store had just been robbed and all of the streets were shut down, which included our access to le Pont Neuf… but to be able to walk where these great painters had once been and see Paris through their eyes was very interesting indeed. We will make time for Map #2 next week.