The ÃŽle des Impressionnistes (), or ÃŽle de Chatou, is an island in the
Seine
The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...
located to the west of
ÃŽle-de-France
The ÃŽle-de-France (; ; ) is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France, with an official estimated population of 12,271,794 residents on 1 January 2023. Centered on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the cou ...
, between the communes of
Chatou
Chatou () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the ÃŽle-de-France Regions of France, region in north-central France. Chatou is a part of the affluent suburbs of western Paris and is on the northwest ...
in
Yvelines
Yvelines () is a department in the western part of the ÃŽle-de-France region in Northern France. In 2019, it had a population of 1,448,207.[Rueil-Malmaison
Rueil-Malmaison () or simply Rueil is a Communes of France, commune in the western suburbs of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department, ÃŽle-de-France Regions of France, region. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is ...]
in
Hauts-de-Seine
Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a department in the ÃŽle-de-France region of France. It covers Paris's western inner suburbs. It is bordered by Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne to the east, Val-d'Oise to the north, Yvelines to the west and ...
, on the left bank.
Toponymy
The island got its name because it was popular with
impressionist
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
painters, including Claude Monet, in the second half of the 19th century.
History
Towards the end of the 18th century, the great and the small island of Chatou were connected by a dike to reinforce the current and thus improve the efficiency of the ''
Machine de Marly''. The small island is also joined to the commune of
Croissy-sur-Seine
Croissy-sur-Seine (, literally ''Croissy on Seine'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the ÃŽle-de-France Regions of France, region in north-central France. It is a suburban town on the western o ...
by a long dike. The left arm of the Seine is called Marly arm and right arm, widened and expanded in the 19th century, is called the Rivière Neuve Arm.
The late 19th and early 20th century was a unique period. In the 1860s, the ''
Maison Fournaise'' prospered there. Artists like
Claude Monet
Oscar-Claude Monet (, ; ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of Impressionism painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During his ...
and
Guy de Maupassant often described the pleasures of the boating and the Maison Fournaise in its short stories. Réalier-Dumas decorated the north facade of the House (his restored fresco is still visible today).
Gustave Caillebotte
Gustave Caillebotte (; 19 August 1848 – 21 February 1894) was a French painter who was a member and patron of the Impressionists, although he painted in a more Realism (arts), realistic manner than many others in the group. Caillebotte was kno ...
who possessed several boats introduced his friends to the boats and to the sail.
A dam was built in 1933 (demolished in 2013) and a hydraulic test laboratory was established there. Located in the extension of the historic Parisian axis, the island served as an extension to the latter, unless, as shown in a study, its northern part remains for a long time only in a wasteland.
After the war, many installations were carried out by
EDF on this site which became the Chatou Research and Test Center. The ''Parc des Impressionnistes'' was inaugurated in 1980. Between 1982 and 2003, the ''Maison Fournaise'' and the ''Maison Levanneur'' were restored and the ''Centre National de l'Estampe et de l'Art Imprimé'' (CNEAI) was opened.
Seine
The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...
from the Parc des Impressionistes.
Events
* The since 2017.
* The Disko Park festival 2018 in Chatou.
* The Island Festival organized by the CNEAI.
References
{{Reflist
Islands of the River Seine
Monuments historiques of Yvelines