Unlike the other fauvists, Vlaminck didn’t travel to the South of France or Brittany, but remained in the environs of Paris. Most of his landscapes were created along the Seine, which he liked to explore by bicycle. The motifs can be identified topographically from the bridges or harbours portrayed.
Between 1904 and 1908 Vlaminck painted the villages of Poissy, Bougival, Rueil, Nanterre and Argentueil. A recurring theme is the bridge at Chatou, where he had lived since 1893. He depicted it from various perspectives. Between December 1900 and September 1901 Vlaminck and Derain shared a studio on the Île de Chatou on the Seine. The association of the two artists became known as the School of Chatou.
As the impressionists had done, Vlaminck painted his landscapes in the open air directly in front of the motif. For the river scenes, unlike the fauvist works of 1905/06, he didn’t use strong colour contrasts. Short, tightly adjacent brushstrokes render the glittering surface of the water in the manner of the impressionists. Vlaminck particularly admired Claude Monet, who was an artistic example to him all his life.
