Van Gogh traveled to Paris in March 1886 to study at Fernand Cormon's studio, where he shared Theo's Rue Laval apartment on Montmartre. In June, they moved into a larger flat further uphill, at 54 Rue Lepic. He painted several Paris streets in Montmartre and many other places, including Bridges across the Seine at Asnieres in 1887.He was very interested in Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints and collected them during his stay in Paris. Ukiyo-e woodblock prints were produced between the 17th and 20th centuries.Ukiyo-e were affordable because they could be mass-produced. They were mainly meant for townsmen, who were generally not wealthy enough to afford an original painting. The original subject of ukiyo-e was city life, in particular activities and scenes from the entertainment life. Beautiful courtesans, bulky sumo wrestlers and popular actors would be portrayed in this woodblocks. Political subjects, and individuals that were poor or not popular were not shown in these prints and very rarely appeared.In many of his paintings you can see the prints in the background.In his 1887 Portrait of Père Tanguy several prints are shown hanging on the wall behind the main figure.
In November 1887, Theo and Vincent met Paul Gauguin who had just arrived in Paris and they soon became freinds. Towards the end of the year, Vincent arranged an exhibition of paintings by himself, Bernard, Anquetin in the Restaurant du Chalet on Montmartre. There Bernard and Anquetin sold their first painting and Van Gogh exchanged work with Gauguin who soon departed to Pont-Aven.
In February 1888, feeling worn out from his life in Paris, he left, having painted over 200 paintings during his two years there.
Paul Gauguin Portrait of Pere Tanguy
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