Corner of Voyer d'Argenson Park at Asnieres

Corner of Voyer d'Argenson Park at Asnières (1887) depicts one of the suburban parks adjacent to the Seine at Asnières where Van Gogh and Émile Bernard spent their summer of 1887 painting together. The park — a small public green space in the working-class commune where Seurat had painted his Bathers subjects — gave Van Gogh a subject that combined the Impressionist tradition of park scenes with his own interest in the social spaces of Parisian suburbs. He was absorbing Pointillist technique directly from Signac during this period, and the dappled light of a park in full leaf offered a perfect demonstration subject for the broken-colour approach he was testing. The collaboration with Bernard at Asnières produced a documented body of work painted side by side; this corner of the park is one of the most intimate records of that productive summer friendship. Current location unknown.

The park corner is rendered with Van Gogh's evolving Impressionist technique — broken color, directional brushwork, a palette lighter than his Dutch period. Trees and paths create compositional structure within the public space. His handling of outdoor light on foliage and path surfaces reflects the Impressionist lessons he was absorbing.