The Church in Auvers-sur-Oise, View from the Chevet (1890) by Vincent van GoghMusée d’Orsay, Paris
Explore the places where art came to life
Have you ever wondered what beautiful image inspired your favorite piece of artwork? Or about the accuracy of an artist's brushstrokes when they painted something from life? Wonder no more: we've picked 5 artworks whose subjects you can see in the real world. How well do you think these artists did?
The Bucintoro at the Molo on Ascension Day (1760) by Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal)Dulwich Picture Gallery
The Bucintoro at the Molo on Ascension Day, by Canaletto, 1760
Canaletto painted this scene of Ascension Day, a historical celebration in Venice where, as part of the the symbolic "Marriage of the Sea" ceremony, the Venetian vessel of state known as the Bucintoro would head to the Adriatic and cast a gold ring into the water.
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The buildings in the background of Canaletto's painting are the Doge's Palace, which you can explore on Street View in modern day.
Mont Sainte-Victoire (1902 - 1906) by Paul CézanneThe Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Mont Sainte-Victoire, by Paul Cézanne, 1902-1906
Between 1902 and 1906, Cézanne painted a series of similar landscapes in oil. This example is a quasi-abstract rendering of the vista, with form and space portrayed through the juxtaposition of small, colored patches of paint - a style that would become influential in the development of Cubism.
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The landscape is Mont Sainte-Victoire, a mountain that overlooks Aix-en-Provence, where the artist lived. Click and drag to explore here.
The Church in Auvers-sur-Oise, View from the Chevet (1890) by Vincent van GoghMusée d’Orsay, Paris
The Church in Auvers-sur-Oise, View from the Chevet, by Vincent van Gogh, 1890
Vincent Van Gogh settled in Auvers-sur-Oise, a village in the outskirts of Paris after spending time at the psychiatric hospital in Saint-Rémy de Provence. Here he painted the town's 13th-century church in an Expressionist style. It is one of 80 paintings that Van Gogh created in the last two months of his life.
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The church still stands today, and you can explore the atmospheric landscape here.
Dent de Lion, Margate (ca. 1791) by Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1775–1851, BritishYale Center for British Art
Dent de Lion, Margate, by J. M. W. Turnerca, 1791
Dent de Lion gatehouse in Margate was painted by Turner in 1791.
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In present day, the gatehouse remains, but the wooden housing with thatched roofing that surrounded it has now been replaced with a more modern version. You can still make out the alternating horizontal bands of knapped flint and red and yellow brick on Street View.
Rouen Cathedral, West Façade, Sunlight (1894) by Claude MonetNational Gallery of Art, Washington DC
The Portal of Rouen Cathedral in Morning Light, by
Claude Monet, 1894
Monet was famous for the way he would capture a single subject at various times of day to explore the way the light, color, and form transformed with the changing sun.
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The painting is from a series depicting Rouen Cathedral, which were painted in late winter 1892 and 1893, positioned in an improvised studio in the front room of a dressmaker's shop across the way.
The Bucintoro at the Molo on Ascension Day (1760) by Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal)Dulwich Picture Gallery
