Seine-Maritime, land of the impressionists...

Seine-Maritime was a welcoming land for the impressionist painters, all dazzled with its incomparable light, its changing skies, its turquoise blue water, the great billows of the Côte d’Albâtre or the meandering lines of the Seine.

The easel slung across the shoulder, with brand new ingenious paint tubes, those outdoor painters, Pissarro, Boudin, Sisley and Monet, come by the amazing rail to catch the seaside skies shades, watch the changing plays of light through the filter of the clouds, study the water reflections and paint the motif. They especially choose the Seine-Maritime landscapes such as the Côte d’Albâtre and the Vallée de la Seine as subjects. As for Monet, he is haunted by two subjects both made of limestone: the cathedral of Rouen and the cliff of Etretat. And he will paint them as long as they will inspire him.

It is also at that time that are created the first seaside resorts where the Parisian and British aristocracy and upper bourgeoisie come for the fashionable “sea bathing”. Those patrons bring the “new painters” with them and even sometimes become subjects for their paintings. They are also attracted by the 19th century industrial landscapes and the crowded quaysides.

In Seine-Maritime, you can enjoy an immersion in the heart of impressionism thanks to 5 themed itineraries and 25 information panels (with flash code giving information on every tourist sites, the paintings and the painting movements) leading you to places where Monet, Sisley, Boudin, Pissaro... have set up their easel.

You can find very rich collections of impressionist paintings in the museums of Seine-Maritime such as the Musée des Beaux-Arts of Rouen (1st impressionist collection outside Paris) and the Musée Malraux (2nd impressionist collection outside Paris).

But what would be this painting movement without the beautiful light of Seine-Maritime and Normandy or its changing skies !

It is your turn now to come and discover these wonderful places full of history and stories…