The city of Rouen, located in the northwest of Paris, was, until more than 5000 buildings were destroyed in World War II, famous as a Gothic* town and city of museums. Gothic churches and picturesque streets stimulated artists to put brush to canvas.

In this beautiful town, a succession of landscape painters worked between 1895 and 1940, seeing the cathedral and the beautiful valley of the River Seine through impressionist eyes. This group was called the Ecole de Rouen, and was an offshoot of the Impressionists*. Its members were born in Normandy, generally in Rouen itself. They spent most of their lives in the region, painting the attractive local landscapes.

Pierre Dumont was one such artist. He took up h...