Vincent van Gogh | The Factory at Asnières, 1887

In the late nineteenth century, the French landscape was becoming increasingly marked by signs of industry.

Van Gogh depicts a glass factory in Asnières, a suburb northwest of Paris where the artist painted frequently in the summer of 1887.

The round objects stacked along the sides of the pathway are balls of glass awaiting melting inside the buildings.

They would have been formed into lantern globes for gas streetlights and interior fixtures. | Source: © The Barnes Foundation

Vincent van Gogh | The Factory at Asnières, Summer, 1887 | The Barnes Foundation

In the summer of 1887, Van Gogh frequently visited Asnières with his friend from Paris, the artist Émile Bernard.

They painted together alongside the Seine.

During this time, the landscape around the capital showed many signs of the growing industrialisation.

So, now for the answer you've all been waiting for: Van Gogh painted a glass factory here.

The glass produced was used in homes and for gas street lights.

Asnières | Van Gogh series

Asnières, now named Asnières-sur-Seine, is the subject and location of paintings that Vincent van Gogh made in 1887.

The works, which include parks, restaurants, riverside settings and factories, mark a breakthrough in van Gogh's artistic development.

In the Netherlands his work was shaped by great Dutch masters as well as Anton Mauve a Dutch realist painter who was a leading member of the Hague School and a significant early influence on his cousin-in-law van Gogh.

In Paris van Gogh was exposed to and influenced by Impressionism, Symbolism, Pointillism and Japanese woodblock print genres.

Vincent van Gogh | Fishing in Spring, the Pont de Clichy (Asnières), 1887 | Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago

During van Gogh's first twelve months in Paris he absorbed a lot of information about modern art from the best of the avant-garde artists of the time, but in practice his work in 1886 and early 1887 varied little from his paintings in the Netherlands.

In the early 1887 he stayed with Émile Bernard and his parents in Asnières and the budding spring seemed to trigger an awakening within van Gogh where he experimented with the genres to develop his personal style.

Vincent van Gogh | Bridges across the Seine at Asnières, Summer, 1887 | Foundation E.G. Bührle, Zurich

In a country setting, undergoing industrialization, van Gogh was able to depict his reverence for rural life and express concern about encroachment of industrialization. With new techniques, van Gogh produced paintings evoked tenderness of couples taking a walk in the park or social commentary about the ways in which factories affected country life.

Vincent van Gogh | The Restaurant de la Sirène at Asnières, Summer, 1887 | Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Vincent van Gogh | The Rispal Restaurant at Asnières, Summer, 1887 | Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City

Vincent van Gogh | Factories at Asnières Seen from the Quai de Clichy, Summer, 1887 | The Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis

Alla fine del XIX secolo, il panorama francese era sempre più segnato dai segni dell’industria.

In "La fabbrica di Asnières", estate 1887, Van Gogh raffigura una fabbrica di vetro ad Asnières, un sobborgo a nord-ovest di Parigi dove l'artista dipinse frequentemente nell'estate del 1887.

Gli oggetti rotondi accatastati lungo i lati del viale sono palline di vetro in attesa di sciogliersi all'interno degli edifici.

Sarebbero stati formati in globi di lanterne per lampioni a gas ed infissi interni. | Fonte: © The Barnes Foundation

Vincent van Gogh | Couples in the Voyer d'Argenson Park at Asnières, June-July 1887 | Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam