In the 19th century, bridges and trains made it easier to visit places outside of Paris. And yet smoking factory chimneys increasingly dominated the horizon. This exhibition reveals how artists captured these changes in their artworks.

Nature and industry Five ambitious artists – Van Gogh, Seurat, Signac, Bernard and Angrand – travelled to the banks of the Seine to paint. Surrounded by green, they captured the changes ushered in by the burgeoning industry. Here they found new, contemporary motifs and developed their use of colour and painting techniques. Asnières had a particular impact on the artistic development of these artists.

Asnières Asnières is located close to Paris, on the Seine. Until about 1850, it was renowned as an idyllic green suburb where city-dwellers headed to relax. In the second half of the 19th century, the area around Asnières became increasingly marked by the booming industry. Attracted by the changing landscape and the easy access from Paris, artists travelled to Asnières to paint.

The exhibition explores the role played by Asnières and the Seine in the artistic development of Vincent van Gogh, Georges Seurat, Paul Signac, Emile Bernard and Charles Angrand.