Pont-Aven (,
Breton: 'River Bridge') is a
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
in the
Finistère
Finistère (, ; br, Penn-ar-Bed ) is a department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. In 2019, it had a population of 915,090.[department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...]
in the
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period o ...
region in Northwestern
France. In 2019, it had a population of 2,821.
Demographics
Inhabitants of Pont-Aven are called ''Pontavenistes'' in French. Pont-Aven absorbed the former commune of Nizon in 1954, which had a population of 1,837 at the time.
Map
History
Pont-Aven is mentioned among the towns which took part in the Breton anti-tax
Rebellion of the Red Bonnets against
Louis XIV of France in 1675.
Arts
Pont-Aven is mainly known because of the group of artists who flocked round
Émile Bernard
Émile Henri Bernard (28 April 1868 – 16 April 1941) was a French Post-Impressionist painter and writer, who had artistic friendships with Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin and Eugène Boch, and at a later time, Paul Cézanne. Most of his not ...
and
Paul Gauguin, and who were joined in 1888 by
Paul Sérusier
Paul Sérusier (9 November 1864 – 7 October 1927) was a French painter who was a pioneer of abstract art and an inspiration for the avant-garde Nabis movement, Synthetism and Cloisonnism.
Education
Sérusier was born in Paris. He studied ...
. They were collectively known as "
Pont-Aven School
Pont-Aven School (french: École de Pont-Aven, br, Skol Pont Aven) encompasses works of art influenced by the Breton town of Pont-Aven and its surroundings. Originally the term applied to works created in the artists' colony at Pont-Aven, which ...
" (French: ''École de Pont-Aven'', Breton: ''Skol Pont-Aven'').
Pont Aven School of Contemporary Art Pont Aven School of Contemporary Art (PASCA) was an art school in Pont Aven France, founded in 1993 by art historian Caroline Boyle-Turner as an international fine arts program for advanced under-graduate and post-graduate studies. It was a private ...
(PASCA) is an international fine arts program located in the historic artists' colony of Pont-Aven (Brittany, France). The student body is made up of third-year university or art college honors students or post-baccalaureate art majors (fourth/fifth-year) seeking further study.
The
Musée des Beaux Arts de Pont-Aven houses a historical reconstruction of Pont-Aven at the end of the 19th century as well as a permanent collection dedicated to the
Pont-Aven School
Pont-Aven School (french: École de Pont-Aven, br, Skol Pont Aven) encompasses works of art influenced by the Breton town of Pont-Aven and its surroundings. Originally the term applied to works created in the artists' colony at Pont-Aven, which ...
.
Pont Aven still attracts artists and art lovers with many commercial galleries in addition to the town's public gallery.
Geography
The river
Aven runs through Pont-Aven. The river has relatively favourable water quality, with pH levels slightly alkaline at about 8.5 and electrical conductivity of 19 micro Siemens per centimetre.
[Hogan, C Michael, "Water quality of fresh water bodies in northern France", Lumina Press, Aberdeen, Scotland 2006]
The town is at the interface of the tidal estuary and the freshwater river.
Sights
Before Pont-Aven attracted
Gauguin and other artists it was a centre for milling with the river Aven being divided above the town to provide a mill race which powers a series of water mills. Whilst several of these retain their wheels only the last, the Moulin Poulguin, is still capable of operating. The mill is now a restaurant and you can see the machinery inside.
Just outside the town are the beech woods of the Bois d'Amour, a source of inspiration for many artists. The town is close to Domaine de Kerlann Holiday Park on the road to the adjoining commune of Nevez. To the northwest of the town, in the small community of Nizon, the ruins of
Château de Rustéphan
The Château de Rustéphan is a small, ruined 15th–16th century manor-house in the Finistère ''département'' of France. It is located in the small rural town of Nizon, near Pont-Aven. It was erected by Jean Du Faou, chamberlain of France a ...
are to be found. Nizon was more famous than Pont-Aven at the 19th century but the painters made it well known.
Popular culture
The
Brittany Ferries
Brittany Ferries is the trading name of the French shipping company, BAI Bretagne Angleterre Irlande S.A. founded in 1973 by Alexis Gourvennec, that operates a fleet of ferries and cruiseferries between France and the United Kingdom, Ireland, a ...
flagship is named after the town.
''
Les Galettes de Pont-Aven'' is a 1975 drama on the life of a middle-aged aspirant painter who settles in the town.
Pont-Aven is the setting for ''Death in Brittany'' (2012), the first book in the series of Commissaire Dupin detective novels by Jean-Luc Bannalec (Jörg Bong).
See also
*
Communes of the Finistère department
The following is a list of the 277 communes of the Finistère department of France.
The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2022):[Musée des Beaux-Arts de Pont-Aven
The Musée des Beaux Arts de Pont-Aven also known as Museum of Pont-Aven was created in 1985 with the support of the French Museum Department and the Finistère Conseil Général. The modern wing built in 1985 is reserved for exhibitions and th ...]
*
Paroisse de Pont-Aven
St Joseph's Church (french: Église paroissiale Saint-Joseph) is a parish church located in Pont-Aven in Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and c ...
References
External links
Official website
*
Pont-Aven Art MuseumPont-Aven School of Contemporary ArtInformation on L'Aven Project and John Melvin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pontaven
Communes of Finistère
Artist colonies