Vincent van Gogh – Bridges Across the Seine at Asnières

Bridges Across the Seine at Asnières is the painting Vincent van Gogh made in 1887 on the Seine: a railway bridge with a smoking train runs across the top, a second bridge with arches crosses the blue water behind it, a woman in pink with a red parasol walks along a curving quay on the left, and yellow rowing boats lie moored at the lower right. The original measures 53.5 x 67 cm and belongs to the Foundation E.G. Bührle Collection in Zurich. We paint it by hand in oil on canvas, in 17 sizes from 40 x 30 to 190 x 151 cm or to your own measurement, and send you a photograph of the finished work for approval before dispatch.

Bridges Across the Seine at Asnières – Vincent van Gogh

What does Bridges Across the Seine at Asnières show?

The painting looks along the Seine from a riverside quay. Across the top runs a long railway bridge on heavy stone piers, and a train of blue and grey carriages crosses it from left to right, its engine sending a dark cloud of smoke into the sky at the upper right. Below and behind it, a second, paler bridge spans the river on a row of shallow arches. The water is laid in short horizontal strokes of blue, lilac and white, and the piers and arches are mirrored in it.

On the left, a cream-coloured quay with a low wall curves down towards the water. On it walks a woman in a pink dress under a red parasol, the strongest touch of red in the painting, and a small dark figure sits near the water’s edge further back on the left. Out on the river a small boat with a red hull moves across the current, and at the lower right a row of empty yellow rowing boats lies moored on a grassy bank.

Why did Van Gogh paint at Asnières?

Asnières, now named Asnières-sur-Seine, is a town on the Seine in the northern suburbs of Paris. According to Wikipedia, Parisians in the 19th century took a short train ride there for boating, rowing meets, festivals and dances. The train on the bridge and the rowing boats on the bank in this painting are both part of that river scene.

Van Gogh had left the Netherlands for Paris in 1886 and lived with his brother Theo in an apartment on the Rue Lepic in Montmartre. Wikipedia writes that he began to paint at Asnières in April 1887, where his fellow painters Paul Signac and Émile Bernard lived, and that he found this setting through Bernard, whom he had met while studying with Fernand Cormon. Asnières was within walking distance of Theo’s flat.

What does the painting mean?

According to the Wikipedia article on Van Gogh’s Asnières paintings, his work of 1886 and early 1887 still varied little from his Dutch paintings, and at Asnières, influenced by Impressionism and Pointillism, he turned to a lighter, more colourful palette and shorter brushstrokes. He wrote to his sister Wil that while painting at Asnières he saw more colours than he had ever seen before.

Wikipedia describes this canvas as painted in the open air and in bright sunlight, with the stone piers reflected in the water, white paint used for the highlights and the woman in pink with the red parasol as the focal point of the composition. It also places the painting in a group of suburban landscapes.

Where is the original today?

The original belongs to the Foundation E.G. Bührle Collection in Zurich. The foundation lists it as Bridges across the Seine at Asnières, 1887, oil on canvas, 53.5 x 67 cm, De la Faille 301. In 1960 the heirs of Emil Bührle gave it to the foundation (inv. no. 50).

After the painter’s death it stayed with the artist’s family. According to the foundation’s record, it was among the works Jo van Gogh-Bonger sent to the dealer Ambroise Vollard in Paris in November 1896. Later owners included the collector Pierre Goujon, whose widow put it up for sale at the Galerie Charpentier in Paris on 23 May 1951, where Marlborough Fine Art of London acquired it for 11,500,000 French francs. Emil Bührle bought it from Marlborough in October 1951 for about 18,000 pounds.

Bridges Across the Seine at Asnières or another Paris Van Gogh – which to choose?

Four paintings in our range come from Van Gogh’s Paris years, like this one. A Pair of Shoes is a still life from 1886. Self-Portrait with Grey Felt Hat and Portrait of Père Tanguy are portraits from 1887, and Two Cut Sunflowers is a still life of two flower heads, also from 1887.

Choose Bridges Across the Seine at Asnières if you want an open landscape rather than a face or a still life: water, sky, bridges and a small figure in the distance. It suits a long wall or a room where you want a view rather than a portrait looking back at you.

How is our hand-painted Bridges Across the Seine at Asnières made?

The painter first sets out the railway bridge and its piers, the arches of the second bridge, the curve of the quay and the boats. Then come the sky and the river in short strokes of blue, lilac and white, and last the train, the smoke, the woman with her red parasol and the yellow boats. Our oil painting reproduction is painted by hand in oil on canvas with real impasto: the paint goes on thickly, so the brushstrokes stand up from the canvas as they do in the original and catch the light.

On this painting the relief matters most in the broken strokes of the water, in the stone of the piers and quay and in the grass at the bottom. A print shows only a flat surface; on our painting the strokes are real.

Every painting is a hand-painted copy made for your order, so no two are quite the same.

Which size for which wall?

Short answer: 70 x 53 or 80 x 65 cm above a sideboard, a desk or a bed, 120 x 100 or 140 x 105 cm above a sofa, and 190 x 151 cm for a large wall. The landscape format suits a long wall above furniture or a study.

There are 17 sizes: 40 x 30, 50 x 39, 50 x 40, 55 x 45, 63 x 48, 65 x 53, 70 x 53, 80 x 65, 90 x 70, 100 x 80, 120 x 100, 140 x 105, 150 x 120, 160 x 127, 170 x 134, 180 x 142 and 190 x 151 cm (width x height). The original is 67 cm wide and 53.5 cm high, so our 65 x 53 cm size is very close to its size. With its blues, creams and the yellow boats, it sits well on a white, light grey or pale blue wall. A 40 x 30 cm size fits above a bedside table or on a bookshelf. A painting for the living room should take up about two thirds of the width of the furniture below it.

Hang it with the centre of the canvas about 150 cm above the floor, leaving 20 to 30 cm between the furniture and the bottom edge.

What if I need a custom size or a frame?

If none of the 17 sizes fits your wall, we paint it to measure. Keep the proportions close to the original, otherwise the bridges get squeezed or the river stretched. Send us the width and height you want and we will quote a price and a lead time. Every painting we make is stretched over a wooden stretcher and ready to hang.

For the moulding, use our 3D application: it shows each of our frame profiles on this subject, so you can compare gold, silver, black, white and natural wood – the application is for choosing the frame only. Seeing the painting on your own wall is our separate room placement service. A light natural wood or white frame keeps the painting airy, and a gold frame picks up the yellow of the boats.

How does delivery work, and what is the guarantee?

Every painting is made to order in our studio in Slovenia, so allow 15 to 45 days depending on the size you choose. We ship it stretched and protected, framed if you chose a frame, across the EU with no customs. Before dispatch you receive a photograph of the finished work to approve, and we correct anything that is not right. Our returns policy applies to every order.

You will find more famous Van Gogh paintings among all our Vincent van Gogh paintings, and there is more about the painter in our article on Vincent van Gogh. If you are giving it as a present and are not sure of the size, a wall art voucher lets the recipient choose.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the original of Bridges Across the Seine at Asnières today?

It belongs to the Foundation E.G. Bührle Collection in Zurich. The foundation lists it as Bridges across the Seine at Asnières, 1887, oil on canvas, 53.5 x 67 cm, De la Faille 301, with the inventory number 50. According to the foundation’s record, Emil Bührle bought it in October 1951 and his heirs gave it to the foundation in 1960.

When and where did Van Gogh paint Bridges Across the Seine at Asnières?

In 1887 at Asnières, a town on the Seine in the northern suburbs of Paris; Wikipedia dates it to the summer of that year. Van Gogh was then living with his brother Theo in Montmartre, within walking distance of Asnières, and Wikipedia says he began painting there in April 1887 and that this canvas was painted in the open air, in bright sunlight.

Which bridges are shown in Bridges Across the Seine at Asnières?

Two bridges cross the Seine in the painting. In front is a railway bridge on heavy stone piers, with a train crossing it and smoke rising from the engine; Wikipedia describes the scene as railway bridges over the river. Behind it a second, paler bridge spans the water on low arches.

Who is the woman with the red parasol in Bridges Across the Seine at Asnières?

It is not known who she is. She is a small figure in a pink dress walking along the quay on the left under a red parasol, and Wikipedia calls the woman in pink with the red parasol the focal point of the composition. Her red is the strongest warm colour in the painting.

Why are the colours of Bridges Across the Seine at Asnières so light?

Because he painted it in 1887, during his Paris years, after he had come to know Impressionist and Pointillist painting in Paris. According to Wikipedia, his work at Asnières moved to a lighter, more colourful palette and shorter brushstrokes than his Dutch paintings. He wrote to his sister Wil that while painting at Asnières he saw more colours than he had ever seen before.

How did Bridges Across the Seine at Asnières come to Zurich?

Through a Paris sale. According to the foundation’s record, Pierre Goujon’s widow sold it at the Galerie Charpentier on 23 May 1951. Marlborough Fine Art of London acquired it there for 11,500,000 French francs, Emil Bührle bought it from them in October 1951, and his heirs gave it to his foundation in Zurich in 1960.

How big is the original of Bridges Across the Seine at Asnières?

The original is 53.5 cm high and 67 cm wide, a landscape format. Our 65 x 53 cm size is very close to it, and as a canvas painting it comes in sizes from 40 x 30 up to 190 x 151 cm or painted to measure. Above a sofa, 120 x 100 or 140 x 105 cm is a good choice.

Does your Bridges Across the Seine at Asnières have the raised brushstrokes of the original?

Yes. We paint our copy in impasto: the paint goes on thickly, so the brushstrokes stand up from the canvas as on Van Gogh’s original. You see it best in the short strokes of the river, in the stone piers and in the boats at the lower right, where the relief catches the light as you walk past.

• Subject: a railway bridge with a train and smoke above the Seine, a second arched bridge behind it, a woman with a red parasol on the quay and yellow rowing boats at the lower right.
• Original: 1887, Asnières, 53.5 x 67 cm, Foundation E.G. Bührle Collection, Zurich.
• Ours: a Van Gogh reproduction painted by hand in oil on canvas, in 17 sizes from 40 x 30 to 190 x 151 cm or made to measure.
• Worth knowing: our 65 x 53 cm size is very close to the size of the original in Zurich.