Bougival by Maurice de Vlaminck Analysis by Jarrod Pinkerton

            I was initially attracted to Bougival by Maurice de Vlaminck because of the brilliant colors he used in the painting.  His choice of intense reds and yellows in the foreground lend to a lively mood, which transcends to the town behind the vivacious hillside.  The artist used vivid colors in the entire painting including the background in blue.  The town is small, but still depicts a bustling atmosphere with the bright red rooftops of the white buildings.  Vlaminck utilizes atmospheric perspective by painting the background in hues of blue and white as well as placing a small house in the background at the end of a yellow road.   These elements add depth to the to the painting and allow the viewer to focus on the vibrant colors in the foreground.  Vlaminck uses short, hard brush strokes to create the scene.  Every element of the painting is created in pieces by adding short strokes to one another and on top of each other.  This technique adds a whimsical feel to the artwork.  The trees in the foreground along with the hillside and shrubs are given some definition by outlining pieces of each element while the houses, mountains, and lake in the background have definite outlines.  This gives the viewer a sense of the constant change and ambiguity of life (in the sunlight), which fades to a more stable state during rest (background in dimmer light).

Most objects in the painting are flat, but the houses are painted in three dimensions.  What gives the painting its volume is the contrast of colors and the size of the object in the front and back.  The initial tree in the foreground is robust and vivid, while the lake in the back is much smaller although it still seems to be a large body of water.  Although many of the images have ambiguous form, they all come together in a rich explosion of color that takes the eye on a journey down a hill on which the sun is perhaps starting to set through a small village were the light had begun to fade and out onto a lively landscape filled with trees, mountains, and water.

The source of light is not depicted in the painting, but it seems to be the setting sun that is behind the artist painting the scene.  The texture of the painting is a bit rough since it is painted in oil using quick, short strokes.  The use of oil paints gave the artist a chance to work on the painting over a period of two years so he would be able to add to and mold the work until the depiction was exactly what he wanted.  Also, this medium is very durable, which allows the viewer today to see the same vivid colors one would have seen in 1905.  I believe Vlaminck wants the viewer to look past the rough exterior of the painting to see the cohesion of the overall piece.  The brush strokes and vivid colors by themselves would be chaotic, but they come together beautifully to form a serene and beautiful landscape