Boulevard de Clichy

Credits: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)

Boulevard de Clichy is one of the major streets in the Paris district of Montmartre, where many artists lived. Van Gogh painted the junction that he often crossed. Rue Lepic, where he lived with his brother Theo, began on the right, just beyond the edge of the picture.

In Paris, Van Gogh was exposed to the latest art movements of his day, Impressionism and Pointillism. This gradually led him to use lighter colours. He also experimented with a variety of painting techniques. His style of brushwork, with many dashes of paint side by side, shows the influence of these art movements. In the same paintings, he also tried out diluted oil paint.