This is one of those lavishly illustrated books based on art museum exhibitions that I usually buy to remember the art I saw, but don't really get around to reading. And, to justify my usual habit, the first essay in this book, about the industrialization and suburbanization of the area to the northwest of Paris was an effort to get through. It was interesting more in the abstract than the actuality. But then came the chapters that covered each of the five artists represented in this book; Vincent van Gogh, obviously, but also Georges Seurat, Paul Signac, Emile Bernard, and Charles Angrand, and things became much more interesting.

Asnières is a suburb of Paris, and combined factories, bourgeois residential areas and the recreational possibilities of the river, along with being an inexpensive and short train journey from the city center. As working class Parisians increasingly visited the area on their days off, for a few years, some truly talented artists drew inspiration from the juxtaposition of the industrial and the bucolic. Van Gogh moved to Paris and began painting in Asnières, often in the company of one of the other artists mentioned here. It must have been an interesting experience, painting with Van Gogh as Signac remembered that he had a tendency to get over-excited and gesticulate violently, covering himself with paint, and also unsuspecting passers-by. Their influence was strong, moving Van Gogh from his early, traditional and murky works into the exuberant use of color and brushstroke that we are all familiar with.

The essays on each artist are not especially well-written, written as they are by art historians and curators, but the subject matter is interesting enough to override the dryness of the text. These artists were a contentious and enthusiastic bunch, forming close friendships and feuding with real energy. Bernard once refused to take part in an important show because Signac was already signed up and a visit to Van Gogh in Arles was cut short because of a fight. I am shallow enough to be entertained by 150 year old gossip.

But the real reason anyone buys these giant, heavy books is for the pictures, and the reproductions here are beautifully done, on good quality glossy paper and the part where artwork by the five men is reproduced next to postcards from the same era, of the same scene, often from the same vantage point more than justify the cost of the book. ( )