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Vincent van Gogh Suburbs of Paris 1887

#Vincent van Gogh #Post-Impressionism #Paris suburbs #art #painting

View from Suresnes near Paris Jean-François Raffaëlli (French; 1850–1924) 1870s–80s Oil on wood panel Nationalmuseum, Stockholm

This chapter captivates with its beautifully crafted mood and imagery!

However, more than half of it focuses on the melancholic exploration of the Parisian faubourgs rather than the gamin. The metaphor of the amphibious creature to describe the suburbs is truly thrilling: trees melting into roofs, grass – into pavements, furrows – into shops. These outskirts are at once peaceful and menacing: vast nooks “where the garrison drums practise noisily, and produce a sort of lisping of battle” and “the tea-gardens at the corners of the cemeteries.” There is also the deserted quarry where mushrooms grow and, of course, the grimmest place, “the hideous wall of Grenelle all speckled with balls” – the site of execution.

When it comes to the depiction of street children, Hugo portrays these runaways from poor families in a poetic and idealized manner. And the picture is once again too sweet and idyllic. They “are eternally playing”, “innocently singing their repertory of dirty songs,” they are “irresponsible, volatile, free and happy.” And “the suburbs belong to them.” At last, the girls are added to the picture: although they are thin and feverish, they are still “crowned with poppies and ears of rye, gay” and “laughing.” Hugo acknowledges that all of this idyllic existence is possible only "in the sweet light of May or June." One cannot help but wonder what happens when summer fades away.

Certainly, Hugo does not blindly idealize the lives of these children. They still “must earn their living.” They are still lonely runaways. And to make the situation more desperate, he compares them to fish, trapped within their environment, unable to escape Paris beyond its suburbs. This is literally all their universe.

#les mis letters #lm 3.1.5 #les miserables #the gamin digression #Paris suburbs