French Artist Communities: The Pont Aven Painters

Sat 13 Dec 2025, 11am–12pm
With Juliet Heslewood, author and art historian
This event takes place in-person at the Museum, and online via Zoom

The second in a series of four talks examining four communities of French artists: The Barbizon school, the Painters of Pont Aven. Van Gogh and Gauguin in Arles, and The Fauves – the ‘Wild Beasts’ of the Mediterranean.

Brittany held a fascination for many, far from Paris in the distant north west of France. Once the railway reached inland, its unique culture fascinated many visitors. Artists soon painted aspects of the religious devotion felt by the Bretons and the picturesque appearance of their traditional clothing. It was also very cheap to live there and in Pont Aven one ‘pension’ offered artists favourable terms.

Gauguin’s style changed radically during his several visits while his young friend Emile Bernard helped to develop Cloisonnism, with reference to local stained glass. Pont Aven became a congenial place in which artists were able to explore alternative ways to represent contemporary rural life.

There are four talks in this series: French Artist Communities.
Each talk needs to be booked separately:

Talk 1 – The Barbizon School – Sat 15 Nov 2025
Talk 2 – The Pont Aven Painters – Sat 13 Dec 2025
Talk 3 – Van Gogh & Gauguin – Sat 24 Jan 2026
Talk 4 – The Fauves – Sat 21 Feb 2026

The series is part of our Connect & Collaborate season of events.

This event takes place in-person at the Museum, and online via Zoom.

Tickets are £8 each. Booking is essential