Have you ever wanted to step inside a piece of artwork? Although this might feel like a pipe dream for many people, the settings of some of the most well-known modern masterpieces exist in real life—and they even welcome visitors.
From an understated cottage in Ohio to a cafe in the dreamy south of France, these beautiful sites have inspired some of the world's most famous artists, such as Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, Edvard Munch, and Grant Wood. By visiting those far-away yet familiar locations, modern art lovers can see and experience their favorite paintings outside of museums' walls or the pages of art history books.
Explore below some of the most famous works of art with this selection of the must-see sites.
Le Café La Nuit (Café Terrace at Night by Vincent van Gogh)
Back, in 1888, Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh visited a colorful city in the south of France named Arles. There, he developed his distinctive style and completed several of his most famous paintings, such as Café Terrace at Night.
Featuring a glowing cafe set against the starry sky, the painting portrays an autumn evening in the Place du Forum, a square in the city center. As Van Gogh had written in a letter to his sister: “On the terrace outside, there are small figures of people drinking beverages. A huge yellow colored lantern lights up the entire terrace, the façade, the road, and even projects light over the stones on the street, which takes on an intense violet-pink tinge.”
The artist painted this piece in plain air, or “outside.” Today, one can stand in the very spot where he set up his easel, situated next to the familiar yellow awning of the aptly which was renamed Le Café La Nuit.
Vincent Van Gogh, “Café Terrace at Night” (1888) (Wikimedia Commons Public Domain)
Kelly Richman-Abdou - My Modern Met
Atelier Cézanne - A Series of Still Life Paintings by Paul Cézanne)
Much like his fellow Post-Impressionist Van Gogh, Paul Cézanne found ample inspiration in France's idyllic south. Unlike the Dutch artist, though, Cézanne was born and raised in that area, with Aix-en-Provence serving as his home base for the majority of his life.
There Cézanne converted an old farmhouse into a sunny studio. In that atelier, he completed several popular paintings, such as his charming Still Life with Plaster Cupid.
Visitors to the Aix-en-Provence area can today stop by his studio, which still hosts the artist's original furniture, painting supplies, as well as still life props. Nestled in the hills, it's no wonder this site appealed to the artist, who had noted he “can perform work there better than in the city.”
Paul Cézanne, “Still Life with Plaster Cupid” (ca. 1890s) (Nationalmuseum via Wikimedia Commons Public Domain)
Kelly Richman-Abdou / My Modern Met
View from Terrain des Peintres in Provence (Mount Saint Victoire Series by Paul Cézanne)
Between 1882 and 1906, Cézanne had completed at least 30 paintings of Mount Saint Victoire, a mountain range in Provence. In that series, the artist famously experimented with color, brushstroke, and composition, making it one of the most important projects of his career.
Most of those pieces were painted from a look-out point situated a short distance from his studio. Famous today as the Terrain des Peintres, the stunning vista is accessible by a unique “Cézanne Trail,” allowing visitors to literally follow in the footsteps of the artist.
Paul Cézanne, “Mount Saint Victoire” (ca. 1890) (Google Arts & Culture via Wikimedia Commons Public Domain)
Mount Saint Victoire
Monet's Garden in Giverny (The Water Lilies and Japanese Bridge Series by Claude Monet)
Impressionist Claude Monet moved to a house in Giverny, a commune in northern France, in 1883. It's here that the Impressionist artist created and cultivated his “most beautiful masterpiece”: a Japanese-inspired garden.
Featuring weeping willow trees, year-round blooms, and an aquatic-flower pond as its centerpiece, this manicured plot of land inspired some of Monet's most famous series, including the 250-piece Water Lilies and 12 paintings of his green Japanese footbridge. “I work at my garden all the time and with love,” Monet famously said. “What I need most are flowers, always. My heart is forever in Giverny.”
Today, the artist's beloved garden—as well as his home, decorated with an impressive collection of Japanese woodblock prints—is a popular tourist destination, boasting more than 500,000 visitors each year.
Claude Monet, “Water Lilies and Japanese Bridge” (ca. 1897 and 1899) (Photo: The Athenaeum via Wikimedia Commons Public Domain)
Monet's garden in Giverny, France
The Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament Series by Claude Monet)
During his time in Giverny, Monet made frequent trips to London. Here, he painted 25 studies of the Palace of Westminster that experimentally explored the sky's changing color and its consequent reflections on the River Thames—an artistic task that proved to be his “day-long obsession, joy, and torment.”
Monet is believed to have completed these pieces from a second-floor terrace of St. Thomas Hospital. While viewing the glistening Houses of Parliament from this exact location may prove difficult today, a stroll along the river's banks and bridges offers nearly identical views.
Claude Monet, “The Houses of Parliament, Sunset” (1903) (Photo: Postdlf via Wikimedia Commons Public Domain)
Parliament at sunset (Photo: poludziber via Shutterstock)
Maison Fournaise (Luncheon of the Boating Party by Pierre-Auguste Renoir)
Luncheon of the Boating Party is one of Pierre-Auguste Renoir's most famous works. Initially exhibited at the Seventh Impressionist Exhibition in 1882, the large-scale painting has been praised for centuries, making its setting—the Maison Fournaise, a restaurant on Chatou Island—a popular destination for dedicated fans of Impressionism.
Situated just outside of Paris, the Maison Fournaise offered boat rentals and scenic dining in the late 19th century. During this time, Renoir and other French painters regularly visited the establishment, as evident in the Luncheon of the Boating Party.
While the restaurant closed its doors in 1906, it reopened in 1990. Today, Maison Fournaise remains in business, inviting you to “relive the Impressionist joys” as you dine on its famous riverside balcony.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir “Luncheon of the Boating Party” (1880-1881) (Photo: The Phillips Collection via Google Arts & Culture Public Domain)
Maison Fournaise in Chatou
Valhallvegen Road (The Scream Series by Edvard Munch)
From 1893 through 1910, Norwegian printmaker and painter Edvard Munch created his well-known series, The Scream. Composed of four works on cardboard and board, this collection stars a shrieking figure as its subject. While medium, color palette, and attention to detail vary from piece-to-piece, each features the same setting: a bridge spanning a blue body of water, set against a dusky sky.
This now-famous scenery was inspired by one of Munch's sunset strolls, as he described in his diary: “One evening I was walking along a path, the city was on one side and the fjord below. I felt tired and ill. I stopped and looked out over the fjord—the sun was setting, and the clouds turning blood red. I sensed a scream passing through nature; it seemed to me that I heard the scream. I painted this picture, painted the clouds as actual blood. The color shrieked. This became The Scream.”
The path described by Munch is believed to be Valhallvegen Road, an overlook situated on Oslo's Ekeberg Hill.
Edvard Munch, “The Scream” (1893) (Photo: National Gallery of Norway via Wikimedia Commons Public Domain)
Valhallvegen Road in Oslo, Norway
Dibble House (American Gothic by Grant Wood)
In 1930, artist Grant Wood painted American Gothic, one of the most recognizable modernist works.
The piece depicts a morose man and woman standing before a small, white, and “very paintable” house with an eye-catching neo-Gothic window. While believed by many to be a couple (namely, a farmer and his wife), the figures are actually modeled after Wood's sister and dentist.
Today, fans of the painting can visit the Dibble House (a name inspired by the quaint cottage's first owner, Charles Dibble), which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Located in Eldon, Ohio, the house now has a museum and visitor center, which even provides props for American Gothic-inspired photo shoots!
Grant Wood, “American Gothic” (1930) (Photo: Google Arts & Culture via Wikimedia Commons Public Domain)
American Gothic house in Eldon, Iowa (Photo: Scott Cornell via Shutterstock)
Reference: Mymodernmet
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