Many artists and Impressionist painters in particular have stayed or lived in the Pays des Impressionnistes.  Below are the details and addresses of some of them, by town:

Maison Levanneur, on the Ile des Impressionnistes: André Derain (born in Chatou) and Maurice de Vlaminck set up their studio in 1900 in a house next to the restaurant Fournaise, the Maison Levanneur.

It was here, on the banks of the Seine looking across to the little island, that they began to paint.  As impoverished artists, they were forced to live in their studio, which they would heat by burning unused chairs from the restaurant!

Many friends and young women visited them at their studio.  For a time, their presence brought new life to the house, becoming the cradle of a new artistic wave known as Fauvism.

The Maison Levanneur is now the home of the CNEAI  Formed in 1997, the CNEAI is a national centre for contemporary art devoted to publishing artists and their work, and organising many exhibitions and events throughout the year.

2 rue de la Princesse was the site of a house in the grounds of Madame du Barry’s château, which was the home of Sisley between 1870 and 1874 (a commemorative plaque indicates its location).  Sisley made many paintings of the streets of the hamlet from Voisins to Louveciennes: “Rue de la Princesse à Louveciennes”, 1873 (The Philips Collection, Washington), “Une rue à Louveciennes”, 1875 (private collection), “Un jardin à Louveciennes”, 1873 (private collection D95).

On the corner of Avenue Saint-Martin and rue de Voisins (no. 23) is a small square with the house where Renoir’s mother lived.  She moved here after her husband’s death in 1874.  Renoir painted this house over a period of some 15 years, even after his mother had left: “Rue de village ou la provende des poules”, 1895 (private collection). 

At no. 9 Place Ernest Dreux stood the home of Renoir from 1869 to 1870 (a commemorative plaque indicates its location).

22 route de Versailles was the house Pissarro and his wife made their home in 1869.  At the time, Monet, Renoir and Pissarro all lived very close to one another, and would often paint together.  When war broke out in 1870, Pissarro left France for England where he met up with Monet.  He returned to Louveciennes in 1871 to discover that his house had been occupied by Prussian soldiers.  Of the 1,500 paintings he had left there, only forty or so were saved (some of which were Monet’s).  He left Louveciennes in 1872, moving to Pontoise.

No. 4 rue du Général Leclerc was the house of Dr. Baudot, who treated Renoir.  The artist formed a friendship with Jeanne, the doctor’s daughter, and he set up his studio in this house, working there for more than sixteen years between 1897 and 1914. 

The Château des Sources was built on the site of a house where Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun lived for over 30 years, from 1809 until her death.  Her grave is situated in Louveciennes cemetery.

After leaving Louveciennes in 1875, Sisley settled in Marly-le-Roi, in a house near the Abreuvoir (watering place), residing there until 1878.  Many of the paintings he made during this period show the same themes: the Abreuvoir, roads with receding lines, the banks of the Seine and the Machine de Marly.

The flood of Port-Marly also became a source of inspiration.  Of all the Impressionists, Sisley spent the longest period living in this loop of the Seine, and he painted the largest number of canvases of the area.

Mary Cassatt also stayed in one of the houses on Place de l’Abreuvoir in the summer of 1880.  She left a series of intimist family portraits dating from this era, close in style to those painted by Berthe Morisot during the same period.

The artist’s life today!

The Pays des Impressionnistes is also a land of contemporary artists, be they sculptors or painters.  Every year, the communes - or district councils - organise an “Open Doors” weekend to meet local artists.