Seine with a Rowing Boat, The

Van Gogh's The Seine with a Rowing Boat from 1887 belongs to his extensive series of Seine paintings made during his Paris years, when the river and its activity provided him with both modern subject matter and technical challenges of water and reflection. The rowing boat — both a symbol of leisure and a compositional element creating movement in the water — was a favorite subject of Monet and Renoir, and Van Gogh engages with this Impressionist lineage while developing his own approach. The work is currently in a private collection or unlocated.

The rowing boat on the Seine provides a specific, animated element within the reflective river surface. Van Gogh's treatment of the water beneath and around the boat uses broken, directional strokes capturing both movement and reflection. His Paris palette renders the scene with varied color — blues and greens of the river, warm tones of the wooden boat.