Le Moulin de la Galette (Van Gogh series)

Le Moulin de la Galetteis the title of several paintings made byVincent van Goghin 1886 of a windmill, theMoulin de la Galette, which was near Van Gogh and his brotherTheo's apartment inMontmartre. The owners of the windmill maximized the view on the butte overlooking Paris, creating a terrace for viewing and a dance hall for entertainment.
The windmill paintings are a subset of paintings from Van Gogh'sMontmartreseries.
In 1886 van Gogh left the Netherlands for Paris and the guidance of his brotherTheo van Gogh. While van Gogh had been influenced by greatDutch masters, coming to Paris meant that he would have the opportunity to be influenced byImpressionists,Symbolists,Pointillists, and Japanese art. His circle of friends includedÉmile Bernard,Paul Gauguin,Camille Pissarro,Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec,Paul Voglerand others.
Montmartre, abutteoverlooking Paris, was known for its bars, cafes, and dance-hall. It was also located on the edge of countryside that afforded van Gogh the opportunity to work on paintings of rural settings while living in Paris.
The landscape and windmills around Montmartre were the source of inspiration for a number of van Gogh's paintings.Moulin de la Galette, the windmill still mounted over the moved establishment, is located near the apartment that van Gogh shared with his brother Theo from 1886 until 1888. Built in 1622, it was originally called Blute-Fin and belonged to the Debray family in the 19th century. Van Gogh met artists such as Toulouse-Lautrec,Paul Signacand Paul Gauguin who inspired him to incorporate Impressionism into his artwork. Among other things, this resulted in lighter, more colorful works of art.
Moulin de la Galettewas also the name of an outdoor dance hall that was located between two of the last windmills on a Montmartre hilltop. In addition to van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec andPierre-Auguste Renoiralso painted Moulin de la Galette.Renoir's painting of the dance hall is titledBal du moulin de la Galette.
In van Gogh's first year in Paris he painted rural areas around Montmartre, such as the butte and its windmills.  The colors were sometimes somber, and evoke a sense of his anxiety and loneliness, while other paintings were bright and evoked an enthusiastic intense nature.
Le Moulin de la Galette,also calledThe Blute-Fin Windmill, Montmartre(F274) reflects van Gogh's artistic transition from his work in the Netherlands which was somber and heavy. Influenced by Impressionism, van Gogh's painted this work with lighter colors and unrestrained brushstrokes to capture light and movement. Van Gogh made the painting from an empty lot onrue Lepic, the street in which he lived with Theo.  The painting features the Moulin de Blute-Fin, a 17th-century grain-mill, which was an attraction for its views of Paris. At this time there were three windmills on the butte, but this was the windmill van Gogh favored as a subject for his paintings. Moulin a Poivre, a second windmill, is just inside the left frame of the painting on the horizon. The painting was sold by Scottish art dealer Alex Reid to William McInnes and with van Gogh'sPortrait of Alexander Reidis in the collection of Glasgow Museums.
Le Moulin de la Galette(F348) is an example how van Gogh used a technique for heavily applying paint called impasto that it created a relief effect, partly to convey emotion. The brushstrokes in the windmill and doorsteps are noticeable. The faces of the two people were created with just a couple of brushstrokes.
In addition toLe Moulin de la Galette(F274), which is also namedThe Blute-Fin Windmill, Montmartre, there are several other paintings with the name Blute-Fin.
Here are the images of paintings from van Gogh's period in Paris that include windmills: