Pont-Aven School (french: École de Pont-Aven, br, Skol Pont Aven) encompasses works of art influenced by the Breton town of

Pont-Aven Pont-Aven (, Breton: 'River Bridge') is a commune in the Finistère department in the Brittany region in Northwestern France. In 2019, it had a population of 2,821. Demographics Inhabitants of Pont-Aven are called ''Pontavenistes'' in French ...

and its surroundings. Originally the term applied to works created in the artists' colony at Pont-Aven, which started to emerge in the 1850s and lasted until the beginning of the 20th century. Many of the artists were inspired by the works of

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fr ...

, who spent extended periods in the area in the late 1880s and early 1890s. Their work is frequently characterised by the bold use of pure colour and their

Symbolist Symbolism was a late 19th-century art movement of French and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts seeking to represent absolute truths symbolically through language and metaphorical images, mainly as a reaction against naturalism and realis ...

choice of subject matter.

Background

Pont-Aven is a commune of 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.

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

'', in

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 ...

, France, some distance inland from where the river Aven meets the Atlantic Ocean. From the 1850s painters began to frequent the village of Pont-Aven, wanting to spend their summers away from the city, on a low budget in a picturesque place not yet spoilt by tourism. Gauguin first worked in Pont-Aven in 1886. When he returned in 1888, the situation had changed: Pont-Aven was already crowded, and Gauguin looked for an alternative place to work which he found, in 1889, in Le Pouldu (today part of the community of Clohars-Carnoët), some miles off to the East at the mouth of the river

Laïta The Laïta ( br, Laeta) is a river in Brittany in northwestern France. It was the traditional border between the medieval realms or counties of Cornouaille and Gwened and now forms part of the border between the departments of Finistère and Mo ...

, traditionally the border of the

Morbihan Morbihan ( , ; br, Mor-Bihan ) is a department in the administrative region of Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Morbihan (''small sea'' in Breton), the enclosed sea that is the principal feature of the coastl ...

département. There, Gauguin, accompanied by

Meijer de Haan Meijer Isaac de Haan (Amsterdam, April 14, 1852 – Amsterdam, October 24, 1895) was a Dutch painter. In French the name was written Meyer de Haan. Biography He was born into a successful Jewish family of bread and matzo bakers who held to conse ...

, Charles Filiger and for a while by Sérusier, spent the winter of 1889/1890 and several months afterwards.

History

The opening of the railway line from Paris to

Quimper Quimper (, ; br, Kemper ; la, Civitas Aquilonia or ) is a commune and prefecture of the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. Administration Quimper is the prefecture (capital) of the Finistère department. Geography Th ...

in 1862 encouraged tourism in Brittany. The first group of artists to arrive in Pont-Aven during the summer of 1866 consisted of American art students from Philadelphia including Robert Wylie, Charles Way,

Earl Shinn Earl Shinn (November 8, 1838 – November 3, 1886) was an American art critic and art historian who often wrote under the pseudonym "Edward Strahan." Early life and career Shinn was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the youngest child of a ...

and Howard Roberts. They were soon joined by three other Americans, Benjamin Champney, Frederick Bridgeman and Moses Wright, by two English painters, Lewis and Carraway, and by two Frenchmen. Over the next 15 years, the reputation of the colony spread far and wide, attracting many other painters.

Jean-Léon Gérôme Jean-Léon Gérôme (11 May 1824 – 10 January 1904) was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as academicism. His paintings were so widely reproduced that he was "arguably the world's most famous living artist by 1880." The ra ...

, one of the leading French Academic painters, encouraged his American students to go there, while French landscape artists such as

William Bouguereau William-Adolphe Bouguereau (; 30 November 1825 – 19 August 1905) was a French academic painter. In his realistic genre paintings, he used mythological themes, making modern interpretations of classical subjects, with an emphasis on the female ...

, Louis-Nicolas Cabat and

Paul Sébillot Paul Sébillot (6 February 1843 in Matignon, Côtes-d'Armor, France – 23 April 1918 in Paris) was a French folklorist, painter, and writer. Many of his works are about his native province, Brittany. Early life and art Sébillot came from an ...

also spent summers in the village. Among the other foreigners to visit were Herman van den Anker from the Netherlands, Augustus Burke from Ireland and Paul Peel from Canada. The English illustrator

Randolph Caldecott Randolph Caldecott (; 22 March 1846 – 12 February 1886) was a British artist and illustrator, born in Chester. The Caldecott Medal was named in his honour. He exercised his art chiefly in book illustrations. His abilities as an artist were pro ...

visited in 1880. He illustrated Henry Blackburn's ''Breton Folk: An Artistic Tour of Brittany'' (1880), one of the most popular guide-books of the time. His naive illustrations caught the imagination of the ''

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretica ...

'' visiting artists and Gauguin in particular, who is known to have imitated Caldecott's style in his drawings his first summer at Pont-Aven. Randolph Caldecott - Pont-Aven, 1881

There were three hotels ready to accommodate visitors: the Hôtel de Voyageurs, the Hôtel du Lion d'Or and the Pension Gloanec. The Pension Gloanec, where Gauguin and his circle lodged, was especially cheap. When Blackburn visited it offered ''demi-pension'', i.e. board, breakfast and evening meal with cider thrown in, for just sixty francs a month. The artists were attracted by the beauty of the surrounding countryside and the low cost of living. Many of them were looking for a new point of departure, hoping to break away from the Academic style of the

École des Beaux-Arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centur ...

and from

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passa ...

which was beginning to decline. Brittany opened up new horizons with its language, traditional dress, fervent Catholic belief, an oral tradition and the ubiquitous presence of granite crosses and churches. The two most innovative painters to arrive on the scene were Paul Gauguin and Émile Bernard. Gauguin had reached in Pont-Aven in July 1886 while Bernard came later in the summer.Thomson p. 42 When the two met again two years later, they consolidated their relationship. Bernard showed Gauguin his ''Pardon à Pont-Aven'' (1888), which some believe inspired Gauguin to paint his '' Vision après le sermon'', Bernard claiming he was the first to adopt the approach, which became known as Synthetism. Other artists who stayed with Gauguin, first at the Pension Gloanec in Pont-Aven and later at the Buvette de la Plage in Le Pouldu, were Charles Filiger,

Charles Laval Charles Laval (17 March 1862 – 27 April 1894) was a French painter associated with the Synthetic movement and Pont-Aven School. Laval was born in Paris, and was a contemporary and friend of Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh. Gauguin crea ...

, Robert Bevan,

Roderic O'Conor Roderic O'Conor (17 October 1860 – 18 March 1940) was an Irish painter who spent much of his later career in Paris and as part of the Pont-Aven movement. O'Conor's work demonstrates Impressionist and Post-Impressionist influence. Early life ...

Émile Schuffenecker Claude-Émile Schuffenecker (8 December 1851 – 31 July 1934) was a French Post-Impressionist artist, painter, art teacher and art collector. A friend of Paul Gauguin and Odilon Redon, and one of the first collectors of works by Vincent van Go ...

, Armand Séguin and

Władysław Ślewiński Władysław Ślewiński (1 June 1856, in Nowy Białynin – 24 March 1918, in Paris) was a Polish painter. He was one of Gauguin's students and a leading artist of the Young Poland movement. Biography He was born to a landowning family and h ...

. After his first voyage to Tahiti in 1891, Gauguin returned to Pont-Aven for the last time in 1894, once again staying with his circle of friends at the Pension Gloanec.

Synthetism

The style developed in Pont-Aven by Gauguin and Bernard was known as Synthetism as it was designed to synthetise or combine images, producing a new result which was quite different from Impressionism. It relied on a number of principles including the abandonment of faithful representation, the creation of a work based on the artist's memory of the subject but reflecting his feelings while painting, bold application of pure colour, the absence of perspective and shading, the application of Cloisonnism's flat forms separated by dark contours, and geometrical composition free of any unnecessary detail and trimmings."Le Synthétisme"
, ''Musée de Pont-Aven''. Retrieved 16 May 2012.

Gallery

File:Paul Sérusier 001.jpg,

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 ...

, ''The Talisman, the Aven at the Bois d'Amour'' 1888 File:Émile Bernard 1888-08 - Breton Women in the Meadow (Le Pardon de Pont-Aven).jpg, Émile Bernard, ''Breton Women in the Meadow, (Le Pardon de Pont-Aven),'' 1888. File:Paul Gauguin 137.jpg,

, ''

Vision After the Sermon ''Vision after the Sermon (Jacob Wrestling with the Angel)'' is an oil painting by French artist Paul Gauguin, completed in 1888. It is now in the Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh. It depicts a scene from the Bible in which Jacob wrestles a ...

(Jacob wrestling with the angel),'' (1888),

National Gallery of Scotland The Scottish National Gallery (formerly the National Gallery of Scotland) is the national art gallery of Scotland. It is located on The Mound in central Edinburgh, close to Princes Street. The building was designed in a neoclassical style by W ...

File:WLANL - artanonymous - Zelfportret (1).jpg,

, ''Self Portrait'', 1888, oil on canvas, 50 x 60 cm

Van Gogh Museum The Van Gogh Museum () is a Dutch art museum dedicated to the works of Vincent van Gogh and his contemporaries in the Museum Square in Amsterdam South, close to the Stedelijk Museum, the Rijksmuseum, and the Concertgebouw. The museum opene ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

File:"Les Korrigans sous la lune - The dance of the elves of Pont-Aven" (Moonlit landscape with tall trees) by Roderic O'Conor, ca. 1898-1900.jpg, ''Les Korrigans sous la lune – The dance of the elves of Pont-Aven'' (Moonlit landscape with tall trees) by Roderic O'Conor, ca. 1898–1900

Artists working in Pont-Aven (or Le Pouldu)

Arranged by year of arrival: * Otto Weber (1832–1888), German, 1863 * Henry Bacon (1839–1912), American, 1864 * Charles Way, American, 1864 * Robert Wylie (1839–1877), American, 1864 until death * Frederick Bridgman, American, (1847–1928), 1866 * Benjamin Champney (1817–1907), American, 1866 *

(1838–1886), American, 1866 * Howard Roberts, (1843–1900), American, c. 1866 * Herman van den Anker, (1832–1883), Dutch, 1868 *

, (1825–1893), French, 1868 * Louis Cabat, (1812–1893), French, c. 1868 * Milne Ramsey, (1847–1915), American, 1870 *

Clement Nye Swift Clement Nye Swift (1846 – March 29, 1918) was an American artist associated with the Pont-Aven School and known for his paintings of nautical themes and of life in Brittany and Massachusetts. Biography Swift was born in 1846 in Acushnet, ...

, (1846–1918), American, 1870 *

, (1843–1918), French, 1873 *

Julian Alden Weir Julian Alden Weir (August 30, 1852 – December 8, 1919) was an American impressionist painter and member of the Cos Cob Art Colony near Greenwich, Connecticut. Weir was also one of the founding members of "The Ten", a loosely allied group of ...

, American, (1852–1919), 1874 * Augustus Burke, (1838–1891), Irish, 1875 * William Lamb Picknell, (1853–1897), American, 1876 * Alexandre Defaux, (1826–1900), French, 1876 * Thomas Hovenden, (1840–1895), Irish-American, 1876 * Frank C. Penfold, (1849–1921), American, 1877 until death * Henry Mosler, (1841–1920), American, 1879 *

Thomas Alexander Harrison Thomas Alexander Harrison (January 17, 1853 in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaOctober 13, 1930 in Paris, France), was an American marine painter who spent most of his career in France. Career He studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Ph ...

, (1853–1930), American, 1880 * Paul Peel, (1860–1892), Canadian, 1881 * Henry Rodman Kenyon, (1861–1926), American, 1885, 1886 and 1888 *

Arthur Wesley Dow Arthur Wesley Dow (1857 – December 13, 1922) was an American painter, printmaker, photographer and an arts educator. Early life Arthur Wesley Dow was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, in 1857. Dow received his first art training in 1880 from An ...

, (1857–1922), American, 1885 *

(1848–1903), French, 1886, 1888, 1889–1890 and 1894 * Émile Bernard (1868–1941), French, 1886, 1888 and 1891–1893 *

Hubert Vos Hubert Vos (February 15, 1855 – January 8, 1935) was a Dutch painter who was born Josephus Hubertus Vos in Maastricht. He studied at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels and with Fernand Cormon in Paris. He exhibited widely in Paris ...

(1855–1935), Dutch, 1886 *

(1862–1894), French, 1886 * Emile Schuffenecker (1851–1934), French, 1886 * Ferdinand du Puigaudeau (1864–1930), French, 1886 * Ernest de Chamaillard (1862–1930), French, 1888 *

(1852–1895), Dutch, 1888 *

(1854–1918), Polish, 1889 *

(1864–1927), French, 1888, 1889 (and 1889, 1890) * Armand Séguin (1869–1903), French, 1891–1893 * Charles Filiger (1863–1928), French, from 1888 *

Jan Verkade Johannes Sixtus Gerhardus (Jan) Verkade (18 September 1868 - 19 July 1946), afterwards Willibrord Verkade O.S.B., was a Dutch Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist and Christian Symbolist painter. A disciple of Paul Gauguin and friend of Paul S ...

(1868–1946), Dutch, 1891, 1892 * Mogens Ballin (1871–1914), Danish, 1891, 1892 * Henry Moret (1856–1913), French, from 1888 * Ernest Ponthier de Chamaillard (1862–1930), French, from 1888 * Gustave Loiseau (1865–1935), French, 1890 * Émile Jourdan (1860–1931), French, from 1888 *

Jens Ferdinand Willumsen Jens Ferdinand Willumsen (7 September 1863 – 4 April 1958) was a Danish painter, sculptor, graphic artist, architect and photographer. He became associated with the movements of Symbolism and Expressionism. Biography J. F. Willumsen was born ...

(1863–1958), Danish, 1890 *

(1860–1940), Irish, 1892 *

Maurice Denis Maurice Denis (; 25 November 1870 – 13 November 1943) was a French painter, decorative artist, and writer. An important figure in the transitional period between impressionism and modern art, he is associated with ''Les Nabis'', symbolism, a ...

(1870–1943), French * (1867–1949), French * Robert Polhill Bevan, English, 1890, 1891, 1892, 1893 and 1894 * Cuno Amiet (1868–1961), Swiss, 1892 * Fredrich E. Wallace

References

Sources

* Bevan, Robert. ''Robert Bevan 1865–1925. A memoir by his son'', Studio Vista, London 1965. * * Cariou, André: ''Les Peintres de Pont-Aven'', Éditions Ouest-France, Rennes 1994 * Jaworska, Wladyslawa: ''Gauguin et l'Ecole de Pont-Aven'', Ides et Calendes, Neuchâtel 1971 (no ISBN); English edition: ''Gauguin and the Pont-Aven School'', Thames and Hudson, London 1972 ; American edition: New York Graphic Society, Greenwich Connecticut 1972 * Mathews, Nancy Mowll (2001). ''Paul Gauguin, an Erotic Life''. New Haven, Connecticut:

Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous. , Yale Univers ...

, . * Thomson, Belinda (1987). ''Gauguin''. London:

Thames and Hudson Thames & Hudson (sometimes T&H for brevity) is a publisher of illustrated books in all visually creative categories: art, architecture, design, photography, fashion, film, and the performing arts. It also publishes books on archaeology, history, ...

. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Pont-Aven School Breton art Finistère French art movements French artist groups and collectives Post-Impressionism .