Bridges Across the Seine at Asnières — Vincent van Gogh, 1887

In the spring of 1887 Vincent van Gogh worked the Seine banks at Asnières alongside Émile Bernard and Paul Signac. The bridges — road and rail — stretch across the river in a composition that shows his closest engagement with Pointillist and Divisionist brushwork before the southern light of Arles pulled him in another direction. The divided stroke, the high-key palette, the almost scientific approach to colour: this is Van Gogh as willing student, before he became the artist the world remembers. Reproduced for correspondents and collectors of his Paris cycle. From the Vincent van Gogh collection.