The Seine at Pont de Grenelle

This early work, "The Seine at Pont de Grenelle," captures a quiet moment along the Parisian river. Gauguin painted it in 1875, just a few years after he began working as a stockbroker and before he fully committed to art. The scene is bathed in a soft, diffused light, typical of the Impressionist style he was engaging with at the time. You can see the Pont de Grenelle bridge spanning the river, its arches reflecting gently on the water's surface. The composition leads your eye from the foreground activity, where a figure in a small boat navigates the water, toward the distant city skyline, which is subtly hinted at through hazy forms. This painting offers a glimpse into Gauguin's formative years as an artist, showing his early exploration of landscape and urban scenes before his later, more famous embrace of Symbolism and Polynesian subjects.