paul signac lived around the corner. vincent van gogh joined them when he arrived from holland in 1886. there was still general agreement that modern paris was the proper subject for advanced ambitious painting. what was new was the variety of competing styles with which artists responded to both impressionism and seurat's neo-impressionism. emile bernard turned to japanese and medieval art to find his answer-- flattened colors and simplified forms which sometimes verged on caricature. henri de toulouse-lautrec studied popular art forms, especially posters to bring out the seamier side of the places of popular entertainment. living in a less prosperous district of the city van gogh followed several artists to paint in paris' industrial outskirts. there were undoubtedly political commitments involved in this interest in the working-class quarters of paris. signac wrote in the anarchist journal la revolte that the neo-impressionists were bringing their witness to the great struggle which is taking place between the workers