Vincent probably visited the eighth Impressionist exhibition, which took place from 15 May to 15 June 1886 in a gallery at 1 Rue Lafitte. The art on show included works by Mary Cassatt, Armand Guillaumin, Camille and Lucien Picasso, Paul Signac and Georges Seurat. Vincent knew Impressionism mainly through hearsay before he moved to Paris but living in the French …
Vincent probably visited the second Exposition de la Société des Artistes Indépendants. Although he did not explicitly mention the exhibition in his letters, we can assume he probably did see it, since he was deeply interested in contemporary art and it was one of the major shows of the day. Other important Impressionist exhibitions he likely frequented were the Ve …
The writers Félix Fénéon (1861–1944) and Edouard Dujardin (1861–1949) regularly organised small art exhibitions in the offices of the political, literary and artistic journal La Revue Indépendante at 11 Chaussée d’Antin. In December 1887, Vincent probably visited one featuring work by Louis Anquetin, Camille Pissarro and Georges Seurat. In September 1888, when Vincent was living in Arles, his brother Theo …
The Théâtre Libre opened its doors at 96 Rue Blanche in Paris on 30 March 1887. Founded by André Antoine, it featured innovative plays. Famous artists such as Édouard Vuillard, Paul Signac and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec designed posters for the performances. Antoine often allowed artists to exhibit their work in the theatre’s rehearsal room. They included Georges Seurat, Paul Signac …
Hennequin’s shop on Avenue de Clichy sold canvases, paints and brushes. Many Impressionists bought materials there. Vincent was also a customer; the shop’s stamp is visible on the reverse of two of his paintings: Self-Portrait, a work on cardboard from 1887, and Basket of Apples. The store remained in business until late 2010.
The English-run art supply store Hardy-Alan had a shop in Paris and sold paint, canvases and easels, and Vincent occasionally bought materials there. The shop’s mark was visible on the reverse of Vase of Cornflowers, Daisies, Poppies and White Carnations until the painting was relined during a restoration. Artists including Auguste Renoir, Henri Fantin-Latour and James McNeill Whistler also patronised …
A. Fermine sold easels and other art supplies, such as canvases. The shop was active from 1876 to 1911. Vincent painted Portrait of Agostina Segatori on a canvas from Fermine, according to a stamp on the reverse.
Dubus was an art supply shop where Vincent occasionally went. Vincent painted the 1887 work Vase with Lilacs, Daisies and Anemones on a canvas from Dubus, according to a mark on its reverse. Other artists, such as Gustave Caillebotte and Claude Monet, also patronised the shop.
Alphonse Portier (1841–1902) was a Paris dealer who sold works by artists such as Auguste Renoir, Johan Barthold Jongkind, Paul Cézanne and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec from his apartment at 54 Rue Lepic. In 1885, when Theo showed him a sketch of The Potato Eaters, he was one of the first to respond positively to Vincent’s creations. From then on, Vincent …
Correspondence between Vincent and his brother Theo reveals that in the autumn of 1888 the art dealers Bague et Cie showed an interest in selling some of his recent work. The business was owned by Athnase Bague (1843–1893) and Maurice Gouvet, who dealt in art from the Barbizon and Hague schools and were therefore competitors of Boussod, Valadon & Cie. …
Rey et Perrot was a shop selling canvases and paint, which Vincent probably patronised occasionally. It was only a few minutes’ walk from his apartment on Rue Lepic. Vincent’s paintings Portrait of a Woman and The Moulin Le Blute-Finl bear Rey et Perrot’s marks on their reverse.
In December 1887, Paul Gauguin wrote that he had left a painting for Vincent with the framer Pierre Cluzel in Rue Fontaine Saint-Georges. Gauguin had been to an exhibition in Restaurant du Chalet that Vincent had organised in November–December 1887, and afterward, the two artists had agreed to swap work. Vincent traded two paintings of blown-up sunflowers for Gauguin’s On …
The shop Hofer frères in the street Grand-Augustins sold all kinds of artist’s supplies such as canvases and paint, which they often produced themselves. They also did restorations. The canvases of Vincent’s paintings Sunset in Montmartre and The Mill Le Blute-Fin bear the Hofer frères mark on the back.
François Joseph Delarebeyrette (1825–1886) was the main Parisian dealer of works by Adolphe Monticelli (1824–1886). When Vincent lived in Paris, the late Delarebeyrette’s wife, Eveline, and their son Gabriel had taken over the gallery. In 1886, their inventory numbered 40 works by Monticelli, who heavily influenced Vincent’s perception of colour. Vincent must have visited the gallery multiple times, and he …
Vincent took the initiative of organising an exhibition of art by Louis Anquetin, Émile Bernard, Arnold Hendrik Koning, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and of his own work at the Grand Bouillon-Restaurant du Chalet. The popular restaurant on Avenue de Clichy served simple, inexpensive meals, and Vincent often went there in 1887. All the participants were what Vincent referred to as artists …
Georges Petit (1856-1920) was one of the most important art dealers in Paris when Vincent lived there. The young Petit had started buying artworks by the Impressionists almost immediately after inheriting his father’s business in 1877, but he also dealt in more classical painting. He thus competed with Durand-Ruel and Boussod, Valadon & Cie. Petit organised not only sales exhibitions …
In Paris, Vincent often bought his canvases at Tasset et Lhôte, a small art supply shop that was also used by artists such as Paul Signac, Alfred Sisley and Edgar Degas. Vincent especially liked the shop’s prepared canvases and continued to order them after moving to Arles. He also bought his paints there. Letters with his needs were sent to …
Vincent, his brother Theo and Theo’s close friend (and later brother-in-law) Andries Bonger dined together almost every day at Chez Bataille, a cheap eatery in Montmartre. There, Vincent made the drawing Window in the Bataille Restaurant. It was customary for single men to eat in restaurants at the time and doing so was easy and cheap.
Vincent occasionally bought cardboard from Pignel-Dupont’s paint and wallpaper shop near the brothers’ apartment on Rue Lepic. Though he never mentioned the shop in his letters, eight of his Paris paintings and studies on cardboard bear its label on the reverse.
Vincent probably frequented Léon Berville’s paint shop at 25 Rue de la Chaussée d’Antin for supplies. Two drawings from his Paris period were done on paper bearing the shop’s watermark. Vincent also mentioned it in a letter from Arles when he was looking for Armand Théophile Cassagne’s instruction book Guide de l’alphabet du dessin. He wanted to use the book …
The Parisian art dealer Pierre Firmin Martin (1817–1891), also known as Père Martin, mainly sold work by the Barbizon school artists and the Impressionists. He also exhibited a number of Vincent’s paintings in 1887 and 1888. Vincent’s art was also displayed in Julien Tanguy’s shop and Georges Thomas’s gallery during this period. None of the three dealers managed to sell …
Georges Thomas (?–1908), also known as Père Thomas, kept a small gallery that exhibited and sold contemporary art. He was one of the first people to sell the work of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Vincent’s art was displayed in Thomas’s gallery but as far as is known, none was ever sold. A few other small Parisian dealers, such as Julien Tanguy …
Vincent likely frequented the Latouche shop on Rue Lafayette, which sold pigments and modern paintings and also provided framing and lining services. Impressionist paintings were also displayed in the window. Mrs Latouche ran the shop on her own after the death of her husband, Louis (1829–1884). Vincent or his brother Theo most likely acquired a plaster copy of Dante’s death …
Paul Durand-Ruel (1831–1922) was one of the most influential contemporary art dealers in Paris during the second half of the nineteenth century. Vincent appreciated how Durand-Ruel supported artists by selling their work before there was a large market for it. While Vincent was living in Nuenen in 1884 and 1885, Theo showed Durand-Ruel some of his brother’s drawings in the …