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In 1901, the Bernheim-Jeune Gallery held the first Paris retrospective of Vincent van Gogh, who had died in 1890. Vlaminck's visit to the exhibition, where he also met Matisse, was groundbreaking. Like him, Van Gogh was self-taught and had broken academic norms with his painting. Because Vlaminck also saw himself as a rebel, Van Gogh became a great role model, and not just artistically. Reflecting on his visit to the exhibition in 1901, Vlaminck noted that van Gogh's works had 'shaken him to the core'. Elsewhere he declared: 'That day I loved van Gogh more than my father'.

The painterly confrontation with the Dutchman is clearly visible in La Grenouillère. Vlaminck applied the predominantly dark colours thickly with a broad brush and outlined the individual objects in black. La Grenouillère, a floating café which also offered boat hire and bathing on the Seine at Croissy-sur-Seine, was a popular meeting place for the Impressionists. Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir both painted it in 1869, and Vlaminck also captured the café on several occasions. For this version, he used a bright orange-red colour, which contrasts well with the earthy tones and turquoise green. A table for two sits in front of a tree that runs diagonally through the picture, with a figure beside it. Bright red marks the visual centre here. A few lanterns and other tables line the square on the left, while the entrance to the café is depicted on the right.