Auvers-sur-Oise
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Commune of Auvers-sur-Oise |
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Bird's-eye view | |
Location | |
Administration | |
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Country | France |
Region | Île-de-France |
Department | Val-d'Oise |
Arrondissement | Pontoise |
Canton | La Vallée-du-Sausseron (chief town) |
Intercommunality | CC de la Vallée de l’Oise et des Impressionnistes |
Mayor | Jean-Pierre Béquet (2001-2008) |
Statistics | |
Elevation | 21–111 m |
Land area¹ | 12.69 km² |
Population² (1999) |
6,820 |
- Density | 537/km² |
Miscellaneous | |
INSEE/Postal code | 95039/ 95430 |
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
2 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
Auvers-sur-Oise is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 27.2 km. (16.9 miles) from the center of Paris. It is associated with several famous artists, the most prominent being Vincent van Gogh.
Contents |
[edit] History
Throughout the 19th century a number of painters lived and worked in Auvers-sur-Oise, including Paul Cézanne, Charles-François Daubigny, Camille Pissarro, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot and of course, Vincent van Gogh. The house of Daubigny is a museum, where one can see paintings by the artist and his family and friends, such as Honoré Daumier, and rooms decorated at the period. If you walk along the river from Auvers toward Pontoise, you can see a number of views which figured in the paintings of Pisarro.
During the 20th century other artists continued to frequent Auvers, for example Henri Rousseau (Douanier Rousseau) and Otto Freundlich.
On August 1, 1948, 17% of the territory of Auvers-sur-Oise was detached and became the commune of Butry-sur-Oise.
[edit] Van Gogh
Dr. Paul Gachet lived in Auvers-sur-Oise. He was acquainted with the avant-garde artists of the time. Through this connection, Vincent van Gogh moved to Auvers to be treated by him, though he considered the doctor to be in a worse state than himself. Gachet befriended Van Gogh and was the subject of two portraits, one of which, Portrait of Dr. Gachet, became one of the highest-priced paintings ever sold at auction.
Van Gogh committed suicide by shooting himself in the stomach. The upper floor of the the Ravoux Inn still has the bed where he died. Auvers-sur-Oise is the final resting place of both Vincent and his brother Theo van Gogh, who died six months later.
Portrait of Dr. Gachet by Vincent van Gogh |
Wheat Field with Crows, one of Van Gogh's last paintings |
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[edit] Transport
Auvers-sur-Oise is served by two stations on the Transilien Paris – Nord suburban rail line: Chaponval and Auvers-sur-Oise.