Bridges across the Seine at Asnieres Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)

A description of Vincent van Gogh’s painting Bridges over the Seine

Van Gogh completed this painting in 1887. In it he depicted his beloved River Seine. Whenever he was in Paris, he always went to the river and admired its scenery. He was very fond of bridges, passing through this picturesque river.

They betrayed the artist’s inspiration, spurred him on to further work. When he painted a picture from life, he paid attention not to the composition of the bridges as a structure across the river, but as a creative episode, a game of unusual colors, which shimmered in different shades in the sun.

This painting is painted with bright, saturated tones that create joy, the energy of admiration for nature, the play of the sun. Everything else seems to disappear in the sun’s rays, which extend to the houses, bridges, and skyline. The sun takes the main role in the picture, it occupies the whole thought, conveys the depth of the picture.

Everything else remains as if in shadow, but it does not disappear in the shadow of the sun, but rather reflects all the objects. Bridges, water, bricks - everything is painted in fiery color. At the same time the picture is filled with even more light, it looks more sunny.

The colors used by the artist give mood, optimism, hope, faith, cheerfulness. Van Gogh is seething with life, he is irrepressible, in perpetual motion. He perceives all objects as an observation, a vital phenomenon. The artist in his painting does not describe as such the process of the sunset, he describes the sun in general, in its entirety. He is trying to convey the sun’s rays scattered across the canvas. These rays are unknown where they come from, and unknown where they lead. They are here, they live in this painting, they are here, they condense over all the objects and consume the painting as a whole. This artist loves life in everything, in all its abundance, this same abundance can be seen in his works. The main feature of the artist, the character of his works is life, hope, movement, joy, abundance. These feelings extend throughout his work as a whole, and in this work in particular.