The painters route

Located about 20 kilometres north of Paris, Écouen has always been a magnet for travellers heading toward northern France. Artists were no exception to the rule and very quickly succumbed to the charm of the place.

The Painters route invites you to (re)discover in 10 stages the painters of the Écouen school which was founded in 1847 with the arrival in the village of Pierre-Edouard Fère, a French painter, engraver and lithographer specialised in genre scenes. Soon joined by a group of 20 artists, some of whom came from the United States, such as Mary Cassatt, he is credited with founding the Écouen painters colony. Pancrace Bessat, Auguste Schenck and Paul Lorillon drew their subjects from everyday peasant life, producing realistic works that often won awards at the Salon.

The route, marked out in a playful and educational way, encourages you to get to know them by discovering their often well-to-do dwellings, attesting to their success.

Don't forget to visit the château d'Écouen, an architectural jewel of the 16th century. It is the only French museum entirely dedicated to the Renaissance period.