In the early 1870s, Argenteuil was the place for artists, at least in the summer. Quiet, not far from Paris by train, and picturesque. Some, like Claude Monet settled in for year-round stays. They’ve left us with hundreds of views of the town—Monet alone produced 156 during his seven years living there.
He painted its bridges, he painted in his garden, he bought a boat and turned it into a studio to paint on the river, and his friends joined him there.
And when the friends visited, they painted, too.
Last summer, while in Paris, I decided that I, too, needed to see Argenteuil, and hopefully find that at least some of what drew the painters was still there to see. Spoiler Alert: By and large, it wasn’t.
The house in whose garden Monet and friends painted is long gone, although the second house they lived in, shown in the title photo remains, and has been refurnished more or less as it was in his time, although it contains none of his paintings or personal artifacts. It’s pretty much a stone’s throw from the busy modern rail station where you arrive in about 15 minutes from Paris-Saint-Lazare.
My first thought after passing the house, which wasn’t open the day I was there (it’s open weekends and Wednesdays), was to find and photograph the bridges, or at least their present incarnations. That wasn’t easy. Down through a narrow underpass, through and industrial area, and finally, a view of the railroad bridge.
But not, alas, the one the painters painted; the two-track bridge that stood as a symbol of change, bringing new connections between city and country, old ways and new, has given way to a newer multi-track bridge serving busy suburban lines. The older bridge was destroyed in wars in 1870 and 1944; the new bridge opened in 1949 and was widened in 1991.
That task accomplished, I began searching for a way to reach the second famous bridge, also now replaced. That wasn’t entirely easy, either. The roads generally led onto the bridge, but I wanted to see it from the side as the various painters did. That basically meant walking on the narrow shoulder of a busy highway. Not the best fun!
But there it was: the 1947 replacement for the bridge destroyed in 1944, which replaced the one destroyed in 1870. Monet painted the replacement for that one while it was still being built, and Gustave Caillebotte is among the many who painted it afterwards. In truth, the new bridge seems in the spirit of the old.
Walking under the bridge, I found that painters are still at work in Argenteuil, at least in this representation of the bridge that was.
Walking up on the new bridge gave me a pleasant view of the river looking back to the railroad bridge… and, on the railing of the bridge I found a surprise: a dedication to John Kelly, father of Grace Kelly, later Princess Grace. Dedicated during the 2024 Olympics, with the Monaco royal family on hand, it honors his victory in the 1924 Olympic rowing events that were held at Argenteuil, in the shadow of the bridge.
The dedication was accompanied not only by a visit of the Olympic torch for 2024 but also the dedication of a mural just off the end of the bridge by street artist Sckaro. I’m probably missing the point, but I can’t see the connection to the Olympics, Kelly or Argenteuil. Perhaps you can…
A tasty sandwich and a gelato, and it was time to head back to Paris, noting pleasant sights along the way. Like everywhere, Argenteuil has something of interest if you look, even if it isn’t what you had hoped to find.
