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Nicolae Grigorescu
Shows the poorer side of France once again
Demonstrates how technology moved slower because the outdated architecture and roads compared to wealthier French towns.

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While in France, Nicolae Grigorescu spent long periods of time in Vitré, "a small medieval town in Brittany, where the narrow streets are stranded between old buildings with sharp, hood-like roofs, while the people themselves are stranded in their ancient, patriarchal traditions" - as the famous art collector Zambaccian describes it. The picturesque town fascinated Grigorescu who thus became the first Romanian painter to have immortalized it. And on canvas, this fascination was translated into a series of masterpieces. The brushstrokes transformed the landscape which became a visual equivalent of the sight which stirred up the painter's deepest, most sincere emotions. He painted everything: streets, houses, people, villages, towns, nature; what seems difficult to render on canvas - the specific features of the places - came with ease, flowed naturally, under his touch. Street in Vitré and Houses at Vitré (ca. 1879-1886) show the artist's preoccupation to exploit the values of light and air, to capture and render them in such a manner that the objects, in a variety of hues of grey, interpose the eyes of the viewer.

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Street in Vitré - NICOLAE GRIGORESCU - Google Arts & Culture

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While in France, Nicolae Grigorescu spent long periods of time in Vitré, "a small medieval town in Brittany, where the narrow streets are stranded between old buildings with sharp, hood-like roofs, while the people themselves are stranded in their ancient, patriarchal traditions" - as the famous art collector Zambaccian describes it.

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Santiago de Rusinol
This shows a traditional French park
The snow displays the climate and the other objects show what a French city typically looked like

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Park Moulin de la Galette - Santiago Rusiñol i Prats - Google Arts & Culture

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"The winter of 1890 - 1891 Santiago Rusiñol (Barcelona, 1861- Aranjuez, 1931) and Ramon Casas (Barcelona, 1866-1932) were in Montmartre, In Paris, a place ...

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1400
This shows a decorative ceiling
Another form of art this and displays themes in French art

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Oriental salon's ceilling - Google Arts & Culture

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The ceilling originally comes from the Ducs of Maqueda's palace built in Tolede in the 15th century. The palace have been uninstalled in 1905 and Joachim C...

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Miquel Utrillo
Represents the religion on the country
This image shows a large cathedral where Catholicism was practiced by many French

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View of the apse of Notre Dame Paris, in the snow - Miquel Utrillo i Morlius - Google Arts & Culture

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"Miquel Utrillo (Barcelona 1862 - Sitges 1934) painted this view of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, from the house he shared with his friend Santiago Rusiño...

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Pierre-- Auguste Renoir
This shows the French having fun in a courtyard
This image shows what the traditional family make ups looked like and that they were a dancing culture

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This painting is doubtless Renoir's most important work of the mid 1870's and was shown at the Impressionist exhibition in 1877. Though some of his friends appear in the picture, Renoir's main aim was to convey the vivacious and joyful atmosphere of this popular dance garden on the Butte Montmartre. The study of the moving crowd, bathed in natural and artificial light, is handled using vibrant, brightly coloured brushstrokes. The somewhat blurred impression of the scene prompted negative reactions from contemporary critics.

This portrayal of popular Parisian life, with its innovative style and imposing format, a sign of Renoir's artistic ambition, is one of the masterpieces of early Impressionism.

Explore museums and play with Art Transfer, Pocket Galleries, Art Selfie, and more

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Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette - Auguste Renoir - Google Arts & Culture

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This painting is doubtless Renoir's most important work of the mid 1870's and was shown at the Impressionist exhibition in 1877. Though some of his friends...

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Vincent van Gogh
This represents farming in France
With the hill conditions it depicts how farmers could overcome these challenges

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Landscape at Saint-Rémy (Enclosed Field with Peasant) - Vincent van Gogh - Google Arts & Culture

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Explore collections and stories from around the world with Google Arts & Culture.

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Georges Seurat
This shows  how French people spent their free time and activities they did
This is important because entertainment and customs are something that makes each culture unique

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A Sunday on La Grande Jatte - Georges Seurat - Google Arts & Culture

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In his best-known and largest painting, Georges Seurat depicted people relaxing in a suburban park on an island in the Seine River called La Grande Jatte. ...

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Rue Saint- Honore, Sun Effect, Afternoon

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Rue Saint- Honore, Sun Effect, Afternoon

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Camille Pissario
Shows the people getting around in the city
Transportation within a structured setting is important to take note of when studying another culture

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In the final decade of his life, Pissarro concentrated on views of Paris, producing works that were among the most commercially successful of his whole career. This image was painted from his hotel window close to the Opéra in the north of Paris during the winter of 1897-1898. Pissarro used rapid, broken brush strokes to evoke the movement of pedestrians, carriages, omnibuses and wheelbarrows in the busy street below. Pissarro often represented the same motifs under different light and weather conditions. In this scene, shafts of afternoon light cross the pedestrian island, but he also painted two other views that show effects of morning sun and afternoon rain.

Recommended

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Rue Saint-Honoré, Sun Effect, Afternoon (La rue Saint-Honoré: effet de soleil, après-midi) - Camille Pissarro - Google Arts & Culture

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In the final decade of his life, Pissarro concentrated on views of Paris, producing works that were among the most commercially successful of his whole career. This image was painted from his hotel window close to the Opéra in the north of Paris during the winter of 1897-1898.

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Pierre- Denis Martin
Shows a French city
Shows how they built the city to fit the terrain and their architectural ability.

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Part of a series on the eight Royal Houses commissioned in 1718, this representation of an elevated view of Fontainebleau provides an imposing panorama of the château, its gardens, the village and the forest seen from the south. In the foreground we can see a royal hunt at the very end of the reign of Louis XIV.

Fontainebleau was a favored hunting residence for the Kings of France, and Louis XIV (1638-1715) especially enjoyed his many trips during the fall in Fontainebleau, where some important episodes of his reign took place. A year before his death, Louis XIV went hunting in a coach, called "le soufflet", visible in the lower right corner of the picture. The character dressed in scarlet on a white horse in the center is probably the Duke of Orléans, who became the Régent after the death of the King. On the left the dogs are pursuing a deer among the rocks, while horsemen are playing the horn.

The gardens are the greatest achievements in Fontainebleau during the reign of Louis XIV and they can be very clearly seen in the painting by Pierre-Denis Martin.

The Grand Parterre, created between 1660 and 1664 by Le Nôtre and Le Vau on the site of François I "Grand Jardin", is just in the middle of the picture. It is still today the largest formal garden in Europe, extending over 14 hectares (35 acres), then adorned with intricate box hedge work in the French style. The square pool in the center is decorated with a fountain called "le Pot bouillant" (replaced by another fountain in 1817). To the south, on the forest side, the round basin called "le Romulus" (surrounded by the basin called "le Bréau") is decorated with a 16th century bronze statue representing the Tiber after the Antique (no longer extent and replaced now by a copy).

On the left, separated from the Grand Parterre by the "allée de Maintenon" (which leads to the Pavilion of the Golden Gate, main entrance to the castle during the Renaissance) we find the Carp Pond. This pond is adorned with a small octagonal pavilion built in 1662 by Le Vau, used for private parties during the reign of Louis XIV. On the left again, the triangular garden is François I's former "Garden of Pines", amended during the reign of Louis XIV (now we find there the 19th century "English Garden").

On the other side of the Grand Parterre, to the east, stretches the Grand Park and the Grand Canal built by Henri IV in 1609, where parties with small boats were organized for the Court's amusement. Between the Grand Parterre and the Grand Canal there is the "Basin of Cascades" and its many fountains, also created under Louis XIV (then rebuilt and transformed in the 19th century). North of the Grand Canal we can see five big basins also decorated with fountains, built in 1684 (no longer extent), and paths converging in the park to a single fountain built under Louis XIII.

At the northwest corner of the Grand Park, near the town, one can notice a pool and next to it three small pyramids: this is the "Basin of the Mirror", and the pyramids are the former coolers of the castle, were ice was stored in winter for the conservation of food and refreshments at the King's table.

The castle itself stretches between the gardens and the village. Louis XIV brought very few structural changes to the extent buildings, which are in the picture essentially those built between the reigns of François I and Henri IV, before the transformations of the 18th and 19th centuries. On the left we recognize the Courtyard of the White Horse, where the famous Horseshoe Staircase is located (hidden in the picture). This courtyard was then closed by Renaissance wings: to the north by the Ministers' Wing (still extent), to the west by the Wing of Ferrara (replaced under Napoleon I by the grid of honor), to the south (near the gardens) by the wing of the Ulysses Gallery, famous for its Renaissance decoration due to Primaticcio (replaced in the 18th century by the Louis XV Wing, built by Gabriel).

Near the wing of the Ulysses Gallery, on the left, the small building with a pointed roof is the Pavilion of Pomona, also famous for its Renaissance decoration (no longer extent). On the right, the pavilion in the angle is called the Stoves Pavilion, another 16th century building (replaced in 1750-1754 by Gabriel's Great Pavilion).

To the east the rest of the buildings, mainly built in the 16th and 17th centuries, appear on the painting in a state close to the current state.

We can see especially well the facades on the gardens side: from left to right the Fountain Courtyard near the pool, with on the right the Fine Fireplace Wing built to plans by Primaticcio, then the Renaissance Golden Gate Pavilion which leads to the Oval Courtyard where the old keep is located, the Ballroom (with its walls frescoed with mythological scenes by Niccolo dell'Abbate, from drawings by Primaticcio), the Saint Saturnin Chapel, the Tiber Pavilion and finally The Offices Courtyard (also called "Henri IV's Quarters"), with its large buildings destined for the kitchen and the officers accommodation.

On the side of the village we can catch sight of the trees of the Garden of the Queen (now the "Diana Garden"), private garden of the sovereigns, surrounded by different wings of the castle. In the background (north side) the wing that can be clearly seen is the Aviary (Volière), built under Henri IV and transformed into an Orangery by Le Nôtre. On the right is the Stag Gallery Wing, and on the left the Deer Gallery, also built under Henri IV. The Orangery and the Deer Gallery were destroyed at the beginning of the 19th century and Pierre-Denis Martin's painting is an interesting testimony on those parts of the castle.

North of the castle is the town of Fontainebleau, with the Saint-Louis church, built in 1613 and established as a parish in 1661, and the many mansions built to house members of the court during the stays of the King. Attached to the right of the Henri IV Quarters we recognized for example the Superintendency of Finances and the Hôtel d'Albret. At the other end of the castle, in front of the Wing of Ferrara we find the Superintendency of Buildings, built under Louis XIV, and the Hôtel of Ferrara (today its monumental entrance gate only remains). Far left we recognize the gate of the Hôtel de Montpensier.

South of the gardens, we can also see several outbuildings of the castle. To the left of the Allée de Maintenon, under the Pond, there is the "Old Kennel", built by François I, home to the Petite Ecurie, and where the Grand Huntsman lived. To the right, between the Allée de Maintenon and the Bréau is the "Old Government", house since Henri IV of the Captain of the Hunt, which was then also intendant and governor of the castle and the town of Fontainebleau.
To the right of the Bréau we see the "Pavilion of the Grand Master of France", built under François I, and occupied during the 17th century by the Princes of Condé. On the other side of the Grand Parterre, near Henri IV's Quarters there is the "Pavilion of the Grand Chamberlain" (still existing and known since the 19th century as the "Sully Pavilion"). The pond next to this Pavilion is "the Trough", where the horses drink water.

South of the Grand Canal finally, is the Héronnière (built under Francis I to raise herons), house of the Grande Ecurie under Louis XIV.

Around the castle, the entire picture is populated with tiny characters working in the fields and gardens.

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View of the Château de Fontainebleau - Pierre-Denis Martin - Google Arts & Culture

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Part of a series on the eight Royal Houses commissioned in 1718, this representation of an elevated view of Fontainebleau provides an imposing panorama of the château, its gardens, the village and the forest seen from the south. In the foreground we can see a royal hunt at the very end of the reign of Louis XIV.

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Zoltan Palugyay
Shows the way traditional bridges were built
Arches were common in French architecture

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Bridge in Paris - Zolo Palugyay - Google Arts & Culture

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Explore collections and stories from around the world with Google Arts & Culture.

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James F Scott
Shows a traditional French church
Churches and religion are a big part of a societies culture

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Interior of Corbie Abbey, showing effect of shell-fire - James F Scott (1877-1932) and First World War official war artist - Google Arts & Culture

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The distinctive Corbie Abbey appears in numerous works in the Memorial's collection of official war art. The town of Corbie, in the Somme Valley 15 kilomet...

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John Ruskin
Shows the landscape of the coast
The landscape determines how a culture develops

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Avranches, looking towards Mont St. Michel - John Ruskin (1819-1900) - Google Arts & Culture

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In late 1848, on a trip delayed by revolution, Ruskin and his new wife travelled on a tour of Northern France. He and Effie found the countryside around Av...

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El Sena. Cercanías de El Havre, Puerto de Rouen

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El Sena. Cercanías de El Havre, Puerto de Rouen

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Jaume Morera i Galicia
Depicts one of the many wars France has fought in
Wars are an important part of what makes a country who it is

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El Sena. Cercanías de El Havre, Puerto de Rouen - Jaume Morera Galícia - Google Arts & Culture

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Landscape view of a river with several boats

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Louis McCubbin
Shows the rural canals of France and how they traveled
It shows the transportation of The French people

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Tunnel entrance, Le Catelet (also known as `St Quentin Canal) - Louis McCubbin - Google Arts & Culture

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Explore collections and stories from around the world with Google Arts & Culture.

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Jean Clouet
Man in traditional French clothing
I chose this because it shows what a typical French male would have worn

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Francis Portrait of the table - Jean Clouet - Google Arts & Culture

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It was in 1519, at the age of 25, Francis I did start the major project from Chambord Castle . When he ascended the throne in 1515 , he won a military vict...

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Santiago Rusinol i Prats
French homes that poor to low middle class citizens lived in at the time
It shows traditional French settlements

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Rouen's street - Santiago Rusiñol i Prats - Google Arts & Culture

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MVB-1637 Perspective view of street of the district of Rouen Paris.

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Claude Monet
Represents the farming side of French culture as well as its natural beauty
It shows the rural side of France that is often overlooked.

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A leading artist of the Impressionist school, during the 1870s, Monet painted works in which the open-air light was captured in brisk touches. In 1883, he moved to Giverny, where he was to stay for the rest of his life, and pursued how to express reflections of light on the water surface and the subtle nuance of the light infiltrating through the atmosphere. Via a number of serial works beginning with Grainstacks, he reached the monumental series of Water Lilies. Monet had a significant influence on the subsequent trend in twentieth century art.

Two other works depicting the morning effect from the same viewpoint are known to exist. Two years later, Monet painted twenty-five views of Grainstacks, which led to the spectacular series of Water Lilies. This painting is a monumental work that pioneered such masterpieces. Compared to his artistic style up to the 1870s, the brushwork has become softer and more delicate. The paint is applied in multiple layers and extends to all corners of the painting. With the substantial grainstacks at the center, the artist brilliantly captures the incessantly changing world of flowing air and infiltrating light. Enwrapped in dense air and light, everything seems to be leisurely in motion. The grainstacks, which Monet chose as his motif, were heaps of unthreshed wheat, which were also used to store food. They were a symbol of the fertile land in the agricultural country, France.

Recommended

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Grainstacks at Giverny; the Evening Sun - Claude MONET - Google Arts & Culture

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A leading artist of the Impressionist school, during the 1870s, Monet painted works in which the open-air light was captured in brisk touches. In 1883, he moved to Giverny, where he was to stay for the rest of his life, and pursued how to express reflections of light on the water surface and the subtle nuance of the light infiltrating through the atmosphere.

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Thomas Matthews Rooke
Represents the poor side of France
It shows an alternate side of France instead of just the glamorous

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Washing Sheds at Chartres - Thomas Matthews Rooke (1842-1942) - Google Arts & Culture

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Thomas Matthews Rooke was an English watercolour artist. He worked as a designer, and as an assistant to other artists. While working as studio assistant t...

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Pierre Jahan
Shows the gardening characteristics of France
It shows the time and effort the French culture put into outdoor artistic work

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"Versailles, or the Thursday outing" - Pierre Jahan - Google Arts & Culture

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"Versailles, or the Thursday outing". 1965.

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Reception honouring Czar Nicholas II of Russia

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Reception honouring Czar Nicholas II of Russia

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Collection Malitte-Richard
Represents upperclass french society
It shows the lavish lifestyle the upperclass chose to live

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Reception honouring Czar Nicolas II of Russia - Collection Malitte-Richard - Google Arts & Culture

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Reception honouring Czar Nicolas II of Russia in 1896: Galerie des Batailles.