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The Artist's Canvas . 01 September 2025 . Autumn Day . Leo Gestel . 1909

Autumn Day is a 1909 painting by the Dutch modernist artist Leo Gestel, a leading figure of the movement alongside Piet Mondrian. Created during his Luminist period, the work captures the vibrant, luminous light of a misty autumn day near the city of Nijmegen.

Gestel was first instructed in art by his father, Willem Gestel, the director of an art school, and his uncle, Dimmen Gestel, who had painted with Vincent van Gogh. Due to financial problems Gestel created advertisements (e.g. for Philips) for illustrated books.

While in Paris he came in contact with the avant-garde movement. In 1913 Herwarth Walden offered him the chance to exhibit work in the "Erster Deutscher Herbstsalon" in Berlin. Generally Gestel spent the summer in Bergen, where he joined the Bergen School. In 1929 the majority of his works were lost when a fire destroyed his studio. He then moved to Blaricum.

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The Artist's Canvas . 31 August 2025 . Montmartre in the Rain . Rue Tholozé . Pierre Bonnard . Paris . 1897

Montmartre in the Rain . Rue Tholozé Pierre Bonnard (1867 - 1947), Paris, 1897

oil on paper on panel, 69.9 cm x 95 cm

Credits: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (purchased with support from the VriendenLoterij, the Rembrandt Association and the VSBfonds)

When he painted this townscape, Bonnard took on a double challenge: the light was failing and it was raining. He was looking out of the window of his Montmartre studio at a view he depicted in a number of works.

His decision to place an expanse of blank wall at the centre of the composition is daring. It gives the least picturesque part of the painting the most emphasis. But there is more to it: look at the perspective. Bonnard has used the difference in distance to the middle roofs and the street in an illogical way. He borrowed ideas for this kind of division of the picture plane and irregular perspective from Japanese prints.

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The Artist's Canvas . 30 August 2025 . Paris in the Snow . Paul Gauguin . Paris . 1894

Paris in the Snow Paul Gauguin (1848 - 1903), Paris, 1894

oil on canvas, 72 cm x 88 cm

Credits: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)

This painting shows the view from the artist’s window. Gauguin had recently moved to the second floor of a building in the Montparnasse area of Paris. We know from contemporary weather reports that it snowed on 24 February 1894, so he probably made the painting around that date. On the shop front in the background are the partially legible words ‘Neufs Occasions’ (New and Secondhand).

Gauguin’s choice of subject is apparently casual. He has signed the picture in the shadow of the overhanging roof in the foreground.

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The Artist's Canvas . 29 August 2025 . View of Pont-Aven . Émile Bernard . 1892

Émile Bernard's view of Pont-Aven was characterized by bold outlines, flat areas of color, and a focus on the simplified forms of rural life and the picturesque landscape, reflecting his contributions to Post-Impressionist movements like Cloisonnism and Synthetism. His artwork, such as View of Pont-Aven (1892), captured the essence of the quaint French village with vibrant colors, dynamic brushstrokes, and bold compositions that emphasized symbolic meaning and experimented with modernist techniques. Artistic Style and Influences Cloisonnism and Synthetism: . Bernard was a pioneer of these late 19th-century art movements, which emphasized bold outlines and simplified forms, creating a flat, almost abstract aesthetic. Symbolism: . He used pictorial symbolism and experimented with compositions to evoke a sense of mystery and atmosphere, as seen in Inside a Shop in Pont-Aven. Influence of Japanese Prints: . His work, like the broader art movement, was influenced by Japanese woodcut prints, contributing to his innovative use of composition and simplification of forms. Key Works View of Pont-Aven (1892): . This painting portrays a picturesque scene of the village, characterized by lush trees and charming rooftops, rendered with vibrant colors and dynamic brushstrokes. View of Pont-Aven (1892) from the Van Gogh Museum: . Bernard's paintings from this period, including this work, are known for their distinctive style of bold outlines and flat planes of color. House among Trees, Pont-Aven: . This painting showcases the use of heavily thinned oil paint, giving it a transparent quality similar to a watercolor. Artistic Collaboration Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh: Bernard collaborated with these prominent artists, and his radical artistic ideas influenced their styles. Van Gogh even made a watercolor copy of one of Bernard's paintings from Pont-Aven.

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The Artist's Canvas . 28 August 2025 . Woman at the Champs-Élysées by Night . Louis Anquetin . Paris . 1890-1891

Woman at the Champs-Élysées by Night Louis Anquetin (1861 - 1932), Paris, 1890-1891

oil on canvas, 83.2 cm x 100.0 cm

Credits: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (purchased with support from the VriendenLoterij and the Rembrandt Association, with the additional support from the Cultuurfonds, and the VSBfonds)

Louis Anquetin was a painter who belonged to the group of Vincent Van Gogh, George Seurat, Paul Gauguin and others. One of his famous works is "Woman at the Champs-Elysees by Night." It features an extravagantly dressed woman strolling alone at the famous boulevard in Paris, her smile matches the glow of the streetlamp. Other figures, except for the horse, seem to dissolve into the background.

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The Artist's Canvas . 27 August 2025 . The Church Tower of Bussy-Saint-Georges . Leo Marie Gausson . Bussy-Saint-Georges . 1890

The Church Tower of Bussy-Saint-Georges Leo Marie Gausson (1860 - 1944), Bussy-Saint-Georges, 1890 oil on canvas, 46.0 cm x 55.5 cm

Credits: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)

Dimensions 46.0 cm x 55.5 cm, 63.1 cm x 72.4 cm, 8.0 cm

Provenance Exchanged by the artist with Theo van Gogh, Paris, after 2 August 1890; after his death on 25 January 1891, inherited by his widow, Jo van Gogh-Bonger, and their son, Vincent Willem van Gogh, Paris; administered until her death on 2 September 1925 by Jo van Gogh-Bonger, Bussum/Amsterdam/Laren; transferred by Vincent Willem van Gogh, Laren, to the Vincent van Gogh Foundation, Amsterdam, 10 July 1962; agreement concluded between the Vincent van Gogh Foundation and the State of the Netherlands, in which the preservation and management of the collection, and its placing in the Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh, to be realized in Amsterdam, is entrusted to the State, 21 July 1962; on permanent loan to the Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh from the opening of the museum on 2 June 1973, and at the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, since 1 July 1994.

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Serendipity A.I. . 26 August 2025 . Mad Hatter's Tea Party . [Source: bgv-1967]

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Serendipity A.I. . 26 August 2025 . And Let There Be Fashion . [Source: bgv-1967]

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Serendipity A.I. . 26 August 2025 . And Let There Be DeeJay . [Source: bgv-1967]

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Serendipity A.I. . 26 August 2025 . Home I Am, Honey. [Source: bgv-1967]

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Serendipity A.I. . 26 August 2025 . Celestial Beauty . [Source: bgv-1967]

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Serendipity A.I. . 26 August 2025 . Through the Mirror Darkly . [Source: bgv-1967]

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The Artist's Canvas . 26 August 2025 . Tulip Field . Christian Mourier-Petersen

Tulip Field Christian Mourier-Petersen This landscape featuring a field of tulips in the foreground is one of the most impressionistic works by the Danish artist Christian Mourier-Petersen (1858–1945). The scene is illuminated by sunlight: a brilliant blue sky stretches above, while the tree’s foliage casts a cool shadow on the warm, yellow exterior of the house. This shadow is devoid of black paint, composed instead of green and blue tints. In using this technique, the artist embraced the methods of the French impressionists, whose path he had crossed previously. For the diverse elements of the composition, Mourier-Petersen employed apt brushstrokes: elongated, diagonal strokes for the sky, short horizontal strokes for the buildings and loose, free ones for the greenery, as well as for the tulips in white, yellow and red. Consequently, the tulip field assumes a decorative pattern that occupies much of the picture plane.

In Denmark Mourier-Petersen made the painting in his native Denmark, probably in the countryside near his family estate, Holbækgaard, in Jutland. He painted it shortly after a two-year tour of France. During his time there, he became friends with the Van Gogh brothers: first with Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) in Arles in early 1888 and then with Theo van Gogh (1857–1891) in Paris in the summer of the same year. He kept in touch with them after returning to Denmark in the winter of 1888–89. On 25 January 1889, he informed Vincent of his intention to send something to Theo, and in early 1890 this Tulip Field was finally dispatched to Paris. Since tulips bloom in spring, it is reasonable to deduce that Mourier-Petersen painted the picture a year earlier, in the Danish spring of 1889. In the accompanying letter, dated 25 February 1890, he wrote to Theo: ‘Please accept this painting “A field of tulips” in memory of Chr Mourier-Petersen. May it please you and may the subject remind you of your country, even though I am from Denmark’, and conveyed his regards to his brother.

To understand how this came about, we must go back in time. Mourier-Petersen trained at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen from 1880 to 1883. However, disenchanted with the institution’s conventional and nationalistic policies, he withdrew prematurely. Together with a group of like-minded students, he established the progressive Kunstnernes Frie Studieskoler (Free Study School for Artists), which championed experimentation with colour and form. He was progressive and wanted to look beyond Denmark’s borders. Thus, in October 1886, he embarked on a two-year grand tour of France in search of ‘foreign places and stronger colours’.

With Vincent van Gogh in Arles The journey began in Paris, where Mourier-Petersen wanted to apprentice in the atelier of the realist artist Léon Bonnat (1833–1922), whose work was an important model for the Kunstnernes Frie Studieskoler and countless other artists. Regrettably, Mourier-Petersen was not admitted because he was unable to demonstrate any of his own work. This did not deter him from delving into the city’s numerous museums, and in commercial galleries he doubtless encountered the work of Barbizon School painters. Some of the landscapes that Mourier-Petersen painted during his time in France echo the styles of Charles-François Daubigny (1817–1878) and Camille Corot (1796–1875), whether in their use of colour or their compositions featuring meandering paths

After Paris, Mourier-Petersen proceeded via Marseilles and Fontvieille to Arles in southern France, arriving there in early summer 1887. Shortly before 10 March 1888, he crossed paths with Vincent, who had been there since 20 February. Over the course of four months, the two artists interacted almost daily. They often met up at a cafe or ventured outdoors to paint side by side.

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The Artist's Canvas . 25 August 2025 . Still Life with Profile of Mimi . Meijer de Haan . Le Pouldu . 1889

Still Life with Profile of Mimi Meijer de Haan (1852 - 1895), Le Pouldu, 1889

oil on canvas, 50.2 cm x 61.4 cm

Credits: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (purchased with support from the VriendenLoterij)

The tabletop tilts forward at a precarious angle but the fruit dishes stay put. This kind of illogical perspective was popular among a number of artists in Meijer de Haan’s day. It was inspired by Japanese prints.

Dutch artist Meijer de Haan moved first to Paris and then to Brittany. There, he took lessons from Paul Gauguin and stayed on to work with him. The painters had met via their mutual friend, Theo van Gogh, Vincent’s brother. Meijer de Haan had a liaison with the proprietor of the inn where they stayed. The little girl seen here was her daughter, Mimi.

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Serendipity A.I. . 25 August 2025 . A Day to Remember and People to Ignore . [Source: bgv-1967]

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Serendipity A.I. . 25 August 2025 . PreHistoric Concepts . [Source: bgv-1967]

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Serendipity A.I. . 25 August 2025 . Down to the Sea in Ships . [Source: bgv-1967]