Belvedere Overlooking Montmartre by Vincent van Gogh - 1886 - - Art Institute of Chicago Belvedere Overlooking Montmartre by Vincent van Gogh - 1886 - - Art Institute of Chicago

Belvedere Overlooking Montmartre

oil on canvas • -
  • Vincent van Gogh - March 30, 1853 - July 29, 1890 Vincent van Gogh 1886

This quite unknown painting dates from the winter of 1887, roughly a year after Vincent van Gogh arrived in Paris to join his brother, the art dealer, Theo van Gogh. It is one of a group of landscapes featuring the Butte Montmartre, a short climb from the apartment on the Rue Lepic where Vincent and Theo lived. Montmartre was dotted with reminders of its quickly receding rural past—abandoned quarries, kitchen gardens, and three surviving windmills, including the Moulin de Blute-Fin. The nonfunctional mill had become a tourist attraction, affording spectacular panoramic views over Paris from the observation tower erected beside it. Greetings from Paris, folks. :)