Boats on the Seine at Chatou

Maurice de Vlaminck

1906 · Oil on canvas · Robert Lehman Collection

Sailboats and the countryside, two of Vlaminck’s favorite motifs, are seen in this view of a sailboat race in progress on the river at Chatou, a town west of Paris. In Chatou, Vlaminck shared a studio with André Derain, an artist who also worked in the realm of Fauvism. The fauvists worked in a style characterized by bold color and sharp, forceful brushwork. This painting shows a sailboat on the right, its bright white sail set against the quaint architecture of the nearby town. Beneath the bridge, men aboard a skiff wave a tricolor flag as they judge the race. Short, vertical strokes of red and yellow paint define an explosion of color and tension in the foreground of this painting. Vlaminck’s use of complementary hues creates powerful color harmonies that seem to supersede the subject of the painting as the object of the viewer’s attention.

Artist

Maurice de Vlaminck

Date

1906

Medium

Oil on canvas

Department

Robert Lehman Collection

Credit line

Robert Lehman Collection, 1975