A City for Impressionism

Some 100 painted works by the preeminent Impressionist masters depicting Rouen and its surroundings. Rouen played a major role in the history of late 19th-century art. While never ceasing to be a landmark for artists since Renaissance times, during the Impressionist period, the city's blossoming industry, beautifully intact architectural heritage and spectacular setting all combined to bring Rouen to the apex of its allure. From this time on, the city that Pissarro deemed "as beautiful as Venice" became one of the most emblematic settings in modern painting. Masterpieces of Monet, Gauguin, Pissarro, Sisley and other luminaries of late 19th century painting are assembled in this volume, which explores one of the last great themes in the story of Impressionism, one that has yet to be the object of an exhibition or a book: this Norman city as a workshop for the new frontier in painting, with its urban ferment and pastoral beauty, its time-honored stones and booming industry, all vibrantly reflected in the waters of the Seine.

Chief curator of artistic heritage, Laurent Salome has directed the Musee des Beaux-Arts and the Museums of the City of Rouen since 2001. Prior to that, he served as adjunct director of the Museum of Grenoble and then as director of the Musee des Beaux-Arts of Rennes from 1995 until his arrival in Rouen. He has written many books and essays on art.