Pont-Aven

Pont-Aven
Watermill in Pont-Aven, by Paul Gauguin, 1894
Coat of arms
Pont-Aven
Location within Brittany region Pont-Aven
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Brittany
Department	Finistère
Arrondissement	Quimper
Canton	Pont-Aven
Intercommunality	Concarneau-Cornouaille
Government
• Mayor (2014–2020)	Jean-Marie Le Bret
Area1	28.63 km2 (11.05 sq mi)
Population (2008)2	2,929
• Density	100/km2 (260/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	29217 / 29930
Elevation	0–102 m (0–335 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Pont-Aven is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France.

Population

Inhabitants of Pont-Aven are called in French Pontavenistes.

Historical population of Pont-Aven

Year	1793	1800	1821	1831	1836	1841	1846	1851	1856	1861
Population	2037	2148	1824	1955	2027	2076	2231	2342	2295	2459

Year	1866	1872	1876	1881	1886	1891	1896	1901	1906	1911
Population	2453	2450	2659	2777	2976	3101	3190	3370	3610	3819

Year	1921	1926	1931	1936	1946	1954	1962	1968	1975	1982
Population	3648	3805	3647	3798	4052	3643	3699	3684	3530	3295

Year	1990	1999	2008
Population	3031	2960	2929

History

• Pont-Aven is mentioned among the towns which took part in the Breton anti-tax Rebellion of the Red Bonnets against Louis XIV of France in 1675.

Arts

Pont-Aven is mainly known because of the group of artists who flocked round Émile Bernard and Paul Gauguin, and who were joined in 1888 by Paul Sérusier. They were collectively known as "Pont-Aven School" (French: École de Pont-Aven, Breton: Skol Pont-Aven).

Pont Aven School of Contemporary Art (PASCA) is an international fine arts program located in the historic artists' colony of Pont-Aven (Brittany, France). The student body is made up of third-year university or art college honors students or post-baccalaureate art majors (fourth/fifth-year) seeking further study.

The Musée des Beaux Arts de Pont-Aven houses a historical reconstruction of Pont-Aven at the end of the 19th century as well as a permanent collection dedicated to the Pont-Aven School.

Pont Aven still attracts artists and art lovers with many commercial galleries in addition to the town's public gallery.

Waterway at Pont-Aven

Geography

The Aven River runs through Pont-Aven. The river has relatively favourable water quality, with pH levels slightly alkaline at about 8.5 and electrical conductivity of 19 micro Siemens per centimeter.

The town is at the interface of the tidal estuary and the freshwater river.

Sights

Before Pont-Aven attracted Gauguin and other artists it was a centre for milling with the river Aven being divided above the town to provide a mill race which powers a series of water mills. Whilst several of these retain their wheels only the last, the Moulin Poulguin, is still capable of operating. The mill is now a restaurant and you can see the machinery inside.

Just outside the town are the beech woods of the Bois d'Amour, a source of inspiration for many artists. The town is close to Domaine de Kerlann Holiday Park on the road to the adjoining commune of Nevez. To the northwest of the town, in the small community of Nizon, the beautiful ruins of Château de Rustéphan are to be found.

Popular culture

The Brittany Ferries flagship is named after the town.

Les Galettes de Pont-Aven is a 1975 drama on the life of a middle-aged aspirant painter who settles in the town.

See also

• Communes of the Finistère department
• Musée des Beaux-Arts de Pont-Aven
• Paroisse de Pont-Aven

References

• INSEE

External links

• Official website (English)/(French)
• French Ministry of Culture list for Pont-Aven (French)
• Pont-Aven Art Museum
• Pont-Aven School of Contemporary Art
• Information on L'Aven Project and John Melvin