Le Moulin de la Galette

Le Moulin de la Galette is an oil painting by Vincent van Gogh. Painted in 1886, it is one of his views of the windmills of Montmartre, Paris. The illustration below shows a windmill above a grassy foreground, with buildings and fencing along the slope. The open ground and sky occupy much of the canvas, giving the mill a setting rather than presenting it as a close-up.

Van Gogh encountered Impressionist painting after moving to Paris in 1886, and his palette and brushwork developed during his time there. In the image shown here, the windmill stands above a grassy slope beneath an open sky. Greens, pale blues and earth colors give the scene a relatively quiet character; it does not display the swirling sky associated with some of his later paintings.

The Moulin de la Galette was associated with Montmartre’s windmills and a popular place of entertainment. Van Gogh made several paintings and drawings of the mills and their surroundings, emphasizing the area’s remaining rural features. These views should not be confused with Renoir’s crowded dance scene at the same location, and the entertainment venue should not be described simply as a dancehall housed inside the windmill.

This view of the Moulin de la Galette records the meeting of open ground, working structures and the changing Parisian neighborhood of Montmartre. The windmill forms a focal point above the slope, while the surrounding space is an important part of the composition. The subject offers a glimpse of van Gogh’s evolving work during his Paris years.