Post-Impressionism: 100 Paintings and Their Artists

1. The Starry Night

A dark cypress connects the village with the vast blue sky, crossed by curves and yellow halos. On the right, the moon illuminates the composition; roofs and the church tower remain much calmer than the sky’s movements. Van Gogh paints this canvas in Saint-Rémy in June 1889, drawing inspiration from the view from his room at Saint-Paul-de-Mausole. Yet he makes it over several sessions during the day. The village was not visible from this window and the cypress is brought closer: observation, memory and invention combine. Thick brushstrokes and blue-yellow contrasts thus give the landscape an expressive force beyond reproducing observed light.

Source: MoMA — The Starry Night, 472.1941.

3. Mont Sainte-Victoire — Edinburgh Version

A bare tree in the foreground crosses the view with slender branches, before the fields of the Arc valley and Sainte-Victoire’s bluish silhouette. Cézanne observes this landscape from southwest of Aix-en-Provence. Earthy ochres and greens of cultivated land echo the mountain’s blue-greys; brushstrokes construct areas of colour rather than an entirely continuous perspective. Despite its watercolour-like appearance, this work is painted in oil in thin layers, with parts of the pale ground left visible. The museum suggests dating to around 1890–1895, difficult to establish more precisely. This Edinburgh version shows how Cézanne combines observation of landscape with an exploration of structure and balance.

Source: National Galleries of Scotland — Mont Sainte-Victoire, NG 2236.

5. At the Moulin Rouge

In At the Moulin Rouge, Toulouse-Lautrec depicts regulars at the famous Parisian venue. A table gathers several figures from his circle, while La Goulue arranges her hair in the background. The artist paints himself in the background beside his much taller cousin. On the right, singer May Milton’s face, cropped by the painting’s edge, takes on a green hue under artificial lighting. Diagonals in the balustrade and floor lead the eye towards this group. Abrupt framing and acidic colours give the scene a particular tension: this group portrait describes Montmartre’s nightlife as much as it explores the effects of electric light.

Source: Art Institute of Chicago — At the Moulin Rouge.

7. The Card Players — Courtauld Version

Two men face each other in The Card Players. The man on the left smokes a pipe; his partner lowers his eyes towards his cards. Their hands and pale cards stand out against an orange table and dark interior. Cézanne constructs the figures through coloured brushstrokes that give weight to jackets, hats and arms. No spectacular gesture interrupts their concentration: the balance of volumes sustains the scene. The illustrated version belongs to the Courtauld Gallery in London. It forms part of a group of five paintings made in the 1890s with different compositions. Farm workers from Cézanne’s family estate posed for these figures.

Source: Courtauld Gallery — The Card Players.

9. Bathers at Asnières

In Bathers at Asnières, men and boys rest beside the Seine. In the centre, a seated figure in profile keeps his legs in the water; on the right, a young bather holds his hands to his mouth. A dog accompanies the reclining man in the foreground. Bridges and factory chimneys place this leisure in Paris’s industrial suburbs. Seurat composes this large canvas in the studio from preparatory studies: the figures’ stillness gives the scene unusual solemnity. Painted in 1884, it predates his systematic pointillism, although some areas were reworked with coloured dots. Rejected from the Salon, it was subsequently shown at the Salon des Artistes Indépendants.

Source: National Gallery — Bathers at Asnières.

11. The Large Bathers — London Version

Eleven women gather in a clearing beneath a blue sky in The Large Bathers. Standing, seated or reclining, they form a compact group whose inclinations echo tree trunks. In the foreground, a small dark dog and fruit form a still life. Despite the title, no body of water appears in this version. Cézanne connects bodies with landscape through blue outlines and repeated touches of colour; the figures seem made of the same substance as the ground and foliage. The illustrated work is the one at the National Gallery in London. It belongs to the three large compositions of bathers worked on late in his life, whose dates remain approximate.

Source: National Gallery — The Large Bathers.

13. The Circus

A female rider stands on a white horse in The Circus, while an acrobat performs a move on the right. In the foreground, a clown seen from behind opens the scene towards the ring. Seurat contrasts the curves of horse, bodies and whip with the regular rows of spectators, whose figures remain motionless. Small red, yellow and blue brushstrokes construct light dominated by pale tones. The blue border painted on the canvas also contributes to the balance of colour. Shown at the Salon des Artistes Indépendants in 1891, the work remains unfinished at the painter’s death. It extends his explorations of popular entertainment and the expressive effects of line and colour.

Source: Musée d’Orsay — The Circus.

15. The Basket of Apples

A tilted basket reveals its apples on the left of The Basket of Apples. A dark bottle rises in the centre, while a plate of stacked biscuits occupies the right. Fruit scattered on the white tablecloth connects these objects. Cézanne does not seek perfectly uniform perspective: the table edges shift and the bottle leans, creating a balance that seems unstable. Thick brushstrokes give volume to apples and folds of fabric; lighter marks leave some outlines open. Painted around 1893, this still life turns everyday objects into a problem of pictorial construction. The signature, visible at the lower left, is uncommon in the painter’s work.

Source: Art Institute of Chicago — The Basket of Apples.

17. Still Life with Apples — MoMA Version

Red, yellow and green apples are arranged on a white tablecloth in Still Life with Apples. A bowl of fruit, a glass and a pitcher raise their volumes before a patterned curtain and brown background. Folds of fabric lead the eye between these objects, but the table’s two sides do not follow a uniform perspective. Cézanne also leaves some areas of canvas visible and outlines incomplete. These discrepancies draw attention to the painting’s construction as much as to the depicted fruit. The illustrated version, painted between 1895 and 1898, belongs to MoMA in New York. It shows how a still life can become an exploration of the perception of form, light and space.

Source: MoMA — Still Life with Apples.

19. The Dream

In The Dream, a nude woman reclines on a red sofa amid a jungle: this familiar piece of furniture makes the scene immediately strange. Precisely outlined leaves, immense flowers and animals create an almost depthless setting. Two lions look towards the viewer, while a musician plays a wind instrument amid the vegetation. Rousseau explained this improbable encounter as the dream of the woman transported into the forest. The painter, who had never travelled outside France, drew inspiration notably from plants and animals observed at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. This combination of meticulous observation and invention anticipates the Surrealists’ interest in dream imagery.

Source: Museum of Modern Art, catalogue entry for The Dream.

21. The Night Café

The Night Café depicts the interior of the Café de la Gare on Place Lamartine in Arles, an establishment open all night where Van Gogh lodged. The billiard table occupies the centre, while customers remain scattered along the walls and a man in white faces the viewer. Floorboard lines and angled furniture accentuate depth but also make the space unstable. Red walls contrast with the greens of ceiling and billiard table; lamps cast large yellow halos. Van Gogh explained to his brother Theo that these contrasts should express human passions and the danger of a place where one can lose oneself. Colour thus transforms an everyday scene into an image of unease.

Source: Yale University Art Gallery.

23. The Sleeping Gypsy

In The Sleeping Gypsy, a woman dressed in long colourful stripes sleeps in a moonlit desert landscape. A mandolin and jug rest beside her; a lion approaches her face, although the painting shows no attack. The reclining body, mountain line and band of water organise the composition horizontally, echoed by the animal’s detailed mane and raised tail. Sharp outlines and broad areas of colour give the scene an almost unreal stillness. The combination of these unusual presences creates tension between peaceful sleep and possible danger. Rousseau thus constructs an enigmatic image in which the viewer imagines what might happen without finding a definitive answer.

Source: Museum of Modern Art.

25. Boy in a Red Waistcoat — MoMA Version

In this version of Boy in a Red Waistcoat, the young model sits in profile with his hands on his knees. His brilliant waistcoat contrasts with the pale shirt, bluish sleeve shadows and dark curtain. Cézanne constructs face and clothing through touches of colour that create volume without erasing the painted surface. MoMA identifies the model as Michelangelo di Rosa, a young Italian whom the artist depicted in four paintings and two watercolours. The restrained pose allows colour and outlines to carry the portrait’s expression. This canvas belonged to Claude Monet, who considered it the finest painting in his collection: testimony to his admiration for Cézanne.

Source: Museum of Modern Art.

27. Starry Night over the Rhône

Painted in Arles in September 1888, Starry Night over the Rhône brings together the sky, city lights and their reflections on the river. Blues dominate the canvas, while gas lights trace long yellow and orange streaks across the water. In the foreground, a couple walks along the bank; their presence gives a human scale to the vast night scene. Visible brushstrokes enliven the surface without dissolving buildings or vessels. Van Gogh was then seeking to convey the colours of night, which he considered particularly rich. This view of the Rhône predates the starry landscape painted in Saint-Rémy in 1889: it has its own composition and a more serene atmosphere.

Source: Musée d’Orsay.

29. The Snake Charmer

A female flute player appears as a dark silhouette before a moonlit waterway. Around her, snakes mingle with branches and long leaves; a bird appears in the foreground. Rousseau constructs abundant vegetation through sharp outlines and numerous shades of green. The contrast between pale sky, almost motionless water and the plants’ dark mass gives the scene a silent, unsettling atmosphere. Music seems to unite the human figure and animals within the same enchantment. Painted in 1907, this imaginary jungle combines meticulous drawing with an asymmetrical composition: its strangeness explains the interest the work will inspire among the Surrealists.

Source: Musée d’Orsay, catalogue entry for The Snake Charmer.

31. The Potato Eaters

Five people share a meal in a modest interior beneath a hanging lamp. On the left, hands reach towards the dish of potatoes; on the right, a woman pours a drink into cups. The figure seen from behind brings the viewer closer to the table. Browns, dark greens and yellowish light emphasise faces and hands marked by work. Made in Nuenen in 1885, this painting belongs to Van Gogh’s Dutch period, before his brilliant Arles palette. The painter wanted to show peasants whose meal was the fruit of working the land. Their deliberately rough features and the restrained setting give this everyday scene dignity without idealisation.

Source: Van Gogh Museum, catalogue entry for The Potato Eaters.

33. Almond Blossom

Almond branches covered in white blossoms spread across a turquoise-blue sky, without a horizon or surrounding landscape. Close framing and emphatic outlines give their branching forms a decorative presence informed by Van Gogh’s interest in Japanese prints. Pale flowers, sometimes tinged with pink, stand out between the branches’ winding lines. Painted in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence in February 1890, this painting is a gift for his newborn nephew Vincent Willem, son of Theo and Jo. The almond tree, which flowers early and heralds spring, symbolises a life beginning here. This family context explains the choice of motif and gives precise meaning to the work’s luminous atmosphere.

Source: Van Gogh Museum, catalogue entry for Almond Blossom.

35. The House of the Hanged Man

A sloping path crosses the foreground between an embankment and pale-walled houses. Leafless trees raise their trunks before the façades, while an opening between buildings offers a glimpse of the village and hills. Cézanne articulates space through the terrain’s diagonals, roofs and masses of vegetation. Thick brushstrokes give walls and ground a rough texture; greens, ochres and blues bring the different planes together. Painted in Auvers-sur-Oise in 1873, this landscape is one of the three works Cézanne presents at the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874. It helps explain his development: observation of landscape already accompanies an exploration of the construction of forms and space.

Source: Musée d’Orsay, catalogue entry for The House of the Hanged Man.

37. The Talisman

Broad yellow, green, red and blue areas compose this small landscape of the Bois d’Amour in Pont-Aven. Trees, the diagonal bank, their reflections in the Aven and a mill at the back right remain recognisable. Sérusier simplifies forms and favours colour relationships over traditional modelling and depth. The inscription on the reverse places execution in October 1888 under Gauguin’s guidance. Brought back to Paris, this panel becomes a reference for the young artists who will form the Nabis. Its force lies in this new freedom given to colour. Often associated with the origins of abstraction, The Talisman nevertheless remains connected with an observed landscape: it is its pictorial translation that changes.

Source: Musée d’Orsay, catalogue entry for The Talisman.

39. Apples and Oranges

Apples and oranges are arranged between a plate, a footed bowl and folds of a white tablecloth. On the right, a floral pitcher echoes patterned fabrics in the background. Cézanne contrasts the roundness of fruit with the angles and curves of the cloth: each object contributes to the construction of the whole. Reds, yellows and oranges stand out against whites tinted with blue and violet. The angles of the dishes and supporting surface make space slightly unstable while maintaining a balance between masses. Painted around 1899, this still life shows how Cézanne renews a familiar subject through colour, volume and the organisation of planes. Observing the folds helps trace connections between the different groups of fruit.

Source: Musée d’Orsay, catalogue entry for Apples and Oranges.

41. Two Tahitian Women on the Beach

Two standing women occupy almost the entire height of the canvas. The woman on the left faces forward, while the other shows her back and turns her head towards her. A black dog appears between their silhouettes. In the background, sea, foam and beach form blue, white and pink bands contrasting with the figures’ brown and green tones. Emphatic outlines and simplified areas of colour give the scene a decorative structure. Held in Honolulu and dated 1891–1894 by the museum, this painting belongs to Gauguin’s first Tahitian stay. It invites us to observe how the painter organises bodies and landscape rather than treating the scene as an objective description of local life.

Source: Honolulu Museum of Art, presentation of Two Nudes on a Tahitian Beach.

43. Curtain, Jug and Fruit Bowl

A stoneware jug stands to the left of a fruit-filled bowl. Between them, a white tablecloth forms large folds crossing the table and falling over the front of the furniture. The dark curtain balances the mass of fruit on the right. Cézanne constructs volumes through variations of green, red and yellow while emphasising some objects’ outlines. The tilt of the fruit bowl and the cloth’s directions create tension in this familiar arrangement. Dated 1893–1894 by the catalogue raisonné, this still life allows us to follow how colours organise space. Individual fruits connect the two main groups, while the contrast between pale fabric and dark background guides the eye through the composition.

Source: Cézanne catalogue raisonné, FWN 854.

45. The Iris

1890 · Oil on thinned cardboard mounted on canvas · 62.2 × 48.3 cm · National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa

The Iris focuses the eye on a blue flower emerging from a tangle of leaves and grasses. In this vertical format, Van Gogh follows stems with supple lines and contrasts them with short background brushstrokes. Yellow-greens, blues and brown accents give the vegetation a vibrant presence. There is neither horizon nor vase: the framing brings the viewer close to the ground and makes plant life the painting’s entire subject. The flower in the upper-left area holds attention, while long leaves lead the eye downwards. This study held in Ottawa differs from Van Gogh’s large bed of irises held at the Getty Museum.

Source: National Gallery of Canada, on Google Arts & Culture.

47. Fatata te Miti

1892 · Oil on canvas · 67.9 × 91.5 cm · National Gallery of Art, Washington

Fatata te Miti, or By the Sea, shows two women preparing to bathe and a fisherman holding a long spear in the water. A dark trunk crosses the composition and separates the foreground figures. The pink and violet shore, orange flowers and deep green water create a landscape of bold colours rather than a naturalistic description. Simplified silhouettes and winding outlines give the scene its decorative rhythm. Painted during Gauguin’s first stay in Tahiti, this painting conveys his idealised vision of the island. It therefore reveals more about the painter’s imagination than the actual lives of the people depicted. The composition invites us to follow the trunk’s curves, then the bathers’ gestures towards the water.

Source: National Gallery of Art, 1963.10.149.

49. The Bonaventure Pine

1893 · Oil on canvas · 65.7 × 81 cm · Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

In The Bonaventure Pine at Saint-Tropez, Opus 239, Signac gives an umbrella pine the presence of a true portrait. Its broad dark crown occupies almost the entire canvas above a green slope and a bay where a few sailing boats pass. Blue and green dots in the foliage are enlivened by yellow and orange accents; the pale sky remains visible between branches. This juxtaposition of colours characterises the painter’s Divisionist method. After a study on site, Signac makes the final composition in the studio. The silhouette organised in arabesques combines observation with stylisation. Painted shortly after he discovers Saint-Tropez, the painting shows how Mediterranean light informs his work on colour contrasts and the balance of forms.

Source: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 74.142.

51. The Evening Air

Around 1893 · Oil on canvas · 116 × 166 cm · Musée d’Orsay, Paris

The Evening Air depicts women resting and walking beneath pine trees beside a sea crossed by sailing boats. Vertical trunks give rhythm to the landscape, while shore and horizon stretch the scene horizontally. Cross chooses a peaceful late afternoon and composes an ideal landscape rather than a fleeting moment. For this large format, he broadens Neo-Impressionist brushwork: small rectangles of colour produce a mosaic effect, particularly visible in dresses, ground and foliage. The work responds to the decorative project proposed by his friend Signac in 1893. Later given to Signac, it is discovered by Matisse in his house and informs his thinking for Luxury, Calm and Pleasure. Its light thus combines the figures’ repose with vibrating colour.

Source: Musée d’Orsay, RF 1976 81.

53. In the Salon of the Rue des Moulins

1894 · Oil on canvas · 111 × 132 cm · Musée Toulouse-Lautrec, Albi

In In the Salon of the Rue des Moulins, Toulouse-Lautrec depicts women waiting in a Parisian brothel. The museum connects this scene with the time of a medical examination. A vast red divan occupies the foreground, while the seated figures each seem absorbed in their own thoughts. The nearest model’s extended leg and arm trace a diagonal organising space; the sofa’s curve encloses the composition. Reds, pinks and muted greens strengthen the impression of a closed interior. Lautrec individualises faces and attitudes rather than reducing the women to an anonymous group. The painting thus shows a time of waiting and fatigue, far from the movement of Parisian performances the painter also depicts.

Source: Musée Toulouse-Lautrec, Albi.

55. Young Woman Powdering Herself

Around 1888–1890 · Oil on canvas · 95.5 × 79.5 cm · Courtauld Gallery, London

Young Woman Powdering Herself depicts Madeleine Knobloch, Seurat’s companion, before a small mirror on a table. Her hand holds a powder puff while her gaze follows the act of grooming. Her bun, bodice and skirt construct large rounded volumes echoed by the furniture’s curves. Dots of colour cover face, clothing and patterned blue background alike. This pointillist method enlivens surfaces through juxtaposed contrasting tones. The intimate subject differs from the painter’s large leisure scenes: here Seurat gives monumental breadth to an everyday gesture. Harmony between bodily forms, mirror and décor transforms this familiar scene into a carefully organised composition.

Source: Courtauld Gallery, P.1932.SC.396 ; museum commentary.

57. Breasts with Red Flowers

1899 · Oil on canvas · 94 × 72.4 cm · Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Held at the Metropolitan Museum under the title Two Tahitian Women, this painting is also known as Breasts with Red Flowers. Two closely grouped figures occupy almost the entire vertical format: one presents a tray of fruit, the other holds flowers and turns towards her companion. Blue fabrics, flesh tones and red accents stand out against a simplified backdrop of vegetation. Gestures and gazes give the scene a silent presence. The museum emphasises that Gauguin constructs an imaginary vision of Tahiti informed by references to the classical nude and his own gaze upon Indigenous women. The work therefore reads as an idealised composition rather than a document of their everyday lives. Tight framing focuses attention on this relationship between figures, offerings and colour.

Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 49.58.1.

59. War

A woman brandishing a sword and torch crosses a devastated landscape on a black horse. Beneath her, victims lie scattered on the ground and crows invade the scene. Rousseau thus personifies war without recounting an identifiable battle. Broken branches, red clouds and large dark silhouettes give this allegory a violence made even more striking by his simplified drawing. The Musée d’Orsay recalls the significance of the Franco-Prussian War and the Commune in its context. Shown at the Salon des Indépendants in 1894, the work divides critics. Observe the contrast between the horse’s horizontal thrust and the bodies’ stillness: the entire composition contrasts destructive power with its human consequences.

Source: Musée d’Orsay, War.

61. Arearea no varua ino

Two women occupy the foreground: one, seated in profile, looks to the right; the other rests her head on her hand. A dark tree separates their silhouettes from distant figures and areas of vivid colour. The Tahitian title inscribed at the lower left is translated as “The Amusements of the Evil Spirit” in the Saint Louis Art Museum guide. The guide associates this presence with the carved figure dominating the scene on the left. Yet Gauguin paints this vision in Brittany after returning from Tahiti and dedicates the canvas to his hostess, Madame Gloanec. Violet shadows and pink ground transform the landscape into a symbolic setting: they express an atmosphere rather than natural light.

Source: Saint Louis Art Museum, guide to the Paul Gauguin: The Art of Invention exhibition.

63. Catholic Mystery

Maurice Denis transposes the Annunciation into a contemporary interior. On the right, the Virgin sits near a window; facing her, a deacon holding a book replaces the traditional angel, accompanied by two choirboys. Halos and the white lily retain signs of the sacred, while furniture and the landscape visible outside bring the scene closer to familiar life. Pale tones, bluish shadows and red accents organise light that is more spiritual than naturalistic. This canvas is the second of six versions of the subject and the largest according to the museum. Observe the vertical lines of candles, lily and window: they give this silent encounter an almost ceremonial structure.

Source: Musée départemental Maurice Denis, Catholic Mystery.

65. Nude in the Bath

Marthe, Bonnard’s wife, lies in a bathtub seen from above. Her body gradually emerges from the water, so closely do reflections and colours connect skin with surroundings. Yellows in the wall and window contrast with floor blues and violet shadows; the bathtub’s white edge traces a diagonal maintaining the space’s legibility. This familiar scene thus becomes an exploration of light and perception. Bonnard often returns to the bath motif, working from notes and memories rather than a continuous sitting before the model. Observe the small brushstrokes in the tiles: their repetition enlivens the surface and interacts with the figure’s less certain outlines.

Source: Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, Nude in the Bath.

67. The Meal

A large bunch of red bananas, a wooden vessel and some fruit dominate the table before three children looking in different directions. Gauguin combines still life and human figures here, using deliberate disproportion to give objects an imposing presence. Painted in the first months of his Tahitian stay, the painting does not describe an observed meal: the Musée d’Orsay emphasises this composition’s arranged character. The white cloth, violet shadows and diagonal knife construct space, while coloured bands on the wall flatten the background. Also titled “The Bananas”, the work retains an enigmatic quality. Observe the isolated figure in the opening on the right: it extends space and accentuates the distance between the figures.

Source: Musée d’Orsay, The Bananas, also called The Meal.

69. Pyramid of Skulls

Four skulls gather in a pyramid, with a pale head raised at the summit and darker forms supporting the group. The almost black background and white fabric accentuate their volume without distracting the eye. Cézanne modulates bony surfaces through ochre, green and grey brushstrokes: colour reveals changes of plane, while eye sockets become strongly defined hollows. The subject recalls the vanitas tradition, in which the skull invites reflection on mortality, but the construction remains primarily an exploration of relationships between forms. Observe the heads’ different orientations and overlaps: they give distinctive density to this small still life, dated 1898–1900 in the catalogue raisonné.

Source: Société Paul Cezanne, catalogue raisonné, FWN 874.

71. The Eiffel Tower

Date: around 1889 · Medium: oil on panel · Dimensions: 24.1 × 15.2 cm · Collection: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Legion of Honor.

In this small vertical panel, the Eiffel Tower occupies almost the entire height of the image. Its pillars and levels emerge in red and orange brushstrokes against a pale blue sky, while a tree on the left balances the monument’s silhouette. Seurat reduces details of the metal structure to emphasise its lines and colour relationships. Brushstrokes remain visible throughout the sky and foreground: light is constructed through juxtaposition rather than continuous gradation. Painted around 1889, as the tower becomes the symbol of the Universal Exhibition, this view combines modern architecture with Neo-Impressionism’s explorations of colour.

Sources: Legion of Honor — catalogue entry for the work ; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco — dating.

73. In Bed, the Kiss

Date: 1892 · Medium: peinture à l’essence on panel · Dimensions: 45.5 × 58.5 cm · Collection: private collection, documented by Christie’s in 2015.

Two women kiss in a bed, their faces close together amid pillows and sheets. Tight framing excludes almost the entire bedroom and focuses attention on intertwined arms. Red hair and warm skin tones stand out against blue-grey linen crossed by rapid marks extending the movement of the gestures. Paint thinned with turpentine allows fluid handling in which drawing remains prominent. This version of In Bed, the Kiss, listed under number Dortu P.438, belongs to the scenes of female couples painted by Toulouse-Lautrec in 1892. It combines observation of an intimate moment with a composition tightly focused on the embrace.

Source: Christie’s — In Bed: The Kiss, Dortu P.438.

75. Port-en-Bessin, Entrance to the Harbor

Date: 1888 · Medium: oil on canvas · Dimensions: 54.9 × 65.1 cm · Collection: Museum of Modern Art, New York (126.1934).

From an elevated position, Seurat looks at the harbour entrance: two breakwaters frame the passage through which several sailing boats move. A grassy slope occupies the foreground, while the horizon and harbour structures organise the upper section into horizontal bands. Pale sails punctuate water crossed by darker areas. Small green, blue and yellow brushstrokes make surfaces shimmer without erasing the composition’s clarity. Pointillism here constructs lighting effects: juxtaposed colours combine in the viewer’s eye. MoMA recalls that Alfred H. Barr Jr. compared sails and cloud shadows to independent melodies brought together in a harmonious whole.

Source: MoMA — Port-en-Bessin, Entrance to the Harbor.

77. Te aa no areois — The Seed of the Areoi

Date: 1892 · Medium: oil on burlap canvas · Dimensions: 92.1 × 72.1 cm · Collection: Museum of Modern Art, New York (SPC14.1990).

A figure seated on blue and white fabric occupies the centre of this Tahitian landscape. Her motionless pose contrasts with pink flowers, yellow palms and orange ground; foreground fruit strengthens the colour harmonies. Dark mountain silhouettes and broad, lightly modelled surfaces give the scene a symbolic character. According to MoMA, Gauguin depicts Vairaumati, associated with the Areoi origin myth, combining Egyptian, Japanese and Javanese references. This invented composition expresses his vision of an idealised Polynesian past: Areoi society had already disappeared on an island transformed by colonisation. Colour therefore contributes fully to constructing the narrative.

Source: MoMA — The Seed of the Areoi.

79. The Pool at Jas de Bouffan

In The Pool at Jas de Bouffan, Cézanne frames a pool on the family estate near Aix-en-Provence. The orangery appears on the left; tall trees, flowers and sculptures border the pool. Their reflections occupy the entire foreground, where blue, green and ochre brushstrokes fragment forms. The horizontal edge stabilises the composition, while upright trunks and water jets give it rhythm. Look at the pillars’ reflections: their colours echo those of the buildings and connect the image’s two halves. This version, listed as FWN 92 and dated to around 1876, allows us to observe how Cézanne constructs a landscape through colour relationships and brushstroke directions.

Source: Société Paul Cezanne — catalogue raisonné, FWN 92. The catalogue gives 49 × 55 cm and also reports the Hermitage’s measurements: 46.1 × 56.3 cm.

81. The Sower — Winterthur Version

In this version of Sower, a peasant crosses a vast yellow field, a sack against his body and one arm extended to scatter seeds. Furrows and curved brushstrokes occupy almost the entire canvas; buildings and trees near Arles form a narrow band along the horizon. The dark silhouette and its shadow stand out against the ground’s yellows, ochres and bluish greys. In his letter to Theo of 27 or 28 October 1888, Van Gogh describes a new study with a very flat landscape and a small, loosely detailed figure. The scholarly edition of the letters identifies this work as F 494 / JH 1617. Notice how the sower’s small size gives the field its full breadth.

Sources: Van Gogh Museum and Huygens Institute — letter 714, note 5 ; Kunst Museum Winterthur — Villa Flora list of works, no. 18.

83. The Open Window

In The Open Window, Bonnard brings a room in his Normandy home into dialogue with the garden outside. Sky blue and foliage greens contrast with the reds and oranges of walls and furniture. A dark blind crosses the top of the opening; the pale window panel on the right extends light into the room. A woman and cat appear discreetly in the lower-right corner. Notice how these presences are discovered after the window, which first attracts the eye. The Phillips Collection recalls that Bonnard worked from memory: this domestic scene is a pictorial reconstruction. The 2023 restoration revealed that even the apparently black cat is painted with mixtures of blue and red.

Sources: The Phillips Collection — The Open Window, no. 0172 ; Bonnard’s Worlds — examination and restoration of the painting.

85. Two Breton Women in a Meadow

In Two Breton Women in a Meadow, Émile Bernard places the two small figures in the lower-right corner amid a landscape dominated by trees and sky. The yellow and green meadow, bluish shadows and foliage are constructed through a multitude of small distinct brushstrokes. Notice how colours blend at a distance, then how each stroke reappears as you approach. Painted in Pont-Aven in 1886, this oil on panel reflects a phase of Bernard’s pointillist experimentation described by the Van Gogh Museum’s scholarly catalogue. The descending diagonal of the tree line leads towards the figures; their small size conveys the meadow’s extent. This painting helps explain the diversity of his explorations before the large compositions with enclosed colour areas of 1888.

Sources: Van Gogh Museum — Two Breton Women in a Meadow ; scholarly catalogue — Bernard’s explorations in 1886.

87. The Channel at Gravelines, Evening

In The Channel at Gravelines, Evening, Seurat organises a harbour view around broad horizontal bands: the dark quay in the foreground, pale water, opposite bank and sky. A post on the left and diagonal anchors on the right frame sailing boats whose silhouettes and reflections punctuate the channel. Notice the difference between these very dark nearby objects and paler boats: it makes distance legible despite a surface entirely covered in small brushstrokes. Dated to summer 1890 by MoMA, this oil on canvas shows how pointillism can combine firm geometric structure with delicate light. Pink, blue, green and yellow dots enliven even areas appearing almost white at a distance.

Source: MoMA — The Channel at Gravelines, Evening, 785.1963.

89. The Red Vineyard

In The Red Vineyard, Van Gogh transforms the grape harvest near Arles into a confrontation of colours: red and orange vines echo the workers’ blue and green clothing beneath a large yellow sun. The row of trees on the left and pale path on the right lead the eye into the background, while bent figures convey the labour of harvesting. Observe the thick, directional brushstrokes: they give the ground movement extending beyond simply describing the landscape. Painted in November 1888, this canvas is held at the Pushkin Museum. Anna Boch bought it in Brussels in 1890; it is among the few works sold during Van Gogh’s lifetime and should not be presented as his only sale.

Sources: Pushkin Museum — current catalogue, Ж-3372 ; historical museum entry.

91. The White Horse

In The White Horse, Gauguin imagines a Tahitian landscape enclosed by vegetation, without sky or horizon. The foreground horse drinks from a dark stream; its coat takes on green hues harmonising with the foliage. Two smaller riders extend the scene upwards, while winding branches and flowers construct a decorative frame. Notice how deep blues, greens and orange accents organise space: colour matters more than realistic perspective. Painted during Gauguin’s second Tahitian stay, this composition is a reconstructed vision rather than a faithful record. The museum reports that its commissioner rejected the canvas because the horse seemed too green: a concrete example of the painter’s chromatic boldness.

Source: Musée d’Orsay — The White Horse, RF 2616.

93. Alone

In Alone, Toulouse-Lautrec captures a woman stretched on an unmade bed, her head on the right and legs falling towards the foreground. Black stockings form two dark accents among white sheets; a few blue lines suffice to indicate body, mattress and folds. Look at the large ochre areas left visible: cardboard contributes to the colour of this study, whose rapid execution creates an impression of immediate gesture. Made in 1896, it prepares Weariness, a lithograph in the album Elles, devoted to the everyday lives of women in brothels. The scene shows a moment of rest without a society pose or moral judgement. Its small format and light handling focus attention on the model’s attitude.

Source: Musée d’Orsay — Alone, RF 1984 30.

95. Public Gardens: Girls Playing

In Public Gardens: Girls Playing, Vuillard uses a tall, narrow format to bring children into view between a large trunk and foliage. Red, blue and yellow dresses punctuate the lower composition, while pale brushstrokes in ground and trees unite figures with the garden. Look at the trunk concealing part of the group: this framing transforms a play scene into a decorative arrangement of forms and colours. The panel belongs to the cycle of nine Public Gardens commissioned in 1894 by Alexandre Natanson for his Parisian interior. The Orsay entry specifies that Vuillard reworked it in 1936. Its composition can thus be understood within a decorative scheme intended to surround a room’s inhabitants.

Sources: Musée d’Orsay — panel RF 1978 46 ; presentation of the cycle.

97. The Ball

In The Ball, Vallotton looks at the garden from an elevated position. A child in a white smock and yellow hat runs towards a small red ball on an ochre path crossed by tree shadows. Two tiny women, in blue and white, stand further away near foliage. Notice the difference between their size and the child’s, then the large curve separating the pale path from dark vegetation: these choices create depth while making the landscape an almost flat surface. Painted in 1899, the work combines a familiar scene with bold framing. Simplified forms and areas of colour give the garden’s empty space as much importance as the figures.

Source: Musée d’Orsay — The Ball, RF 1977 353.

99. Orchards in Blossom, View of Arles

In Orchards in Blossom, View of Arles, Van Gogh places a large pruned tree on the right, so close to the eye that its branches extend beyond the frame. Behind it, flowering trees, orange roofs and Arles’s towers overlap above a green meadow. Look at the flowers’ small white and yellow brushstrokes against the branches’ blue and violet outlines: they make spring shimmer without erasing the trees’ structure. Dated April 1889, this version held in Amsterdam bears the number F515; it differs from view F516 held in Munich. The museum emphasises the influence of Japanese prints in the framing of the foreground tree, which transforms the landscape into a deliberately off-centre composition.

Sources: Van Gogh Museum — catalogue entry distributed on Google Arts & Culture ; museum shop — original dimensions, s0036V1962.