Normandy Drawing made for Gustave Geffroy, appointed Director of the Gobelins tapestry factory, for which he composed a triptych of works devoted to the themes of the Swan and Brittany and Normandy, of which this was one of the preparatory works. Van Gogh met Anquetin at the Cormon's Atelier, and became one of his closest friends. Together with Toulouse Lautrec, he was a reference during his troubled stay in Paris. Van Gogh and Lautrec admired Anquetin above all for his ease and ability to use the power of sign and strength of color to reproduce the intense atmospheres of his paintings. Lautrec said: “[...] after Manet, I think there is no painter endowed with such high qualities”. Being fascinated by Anquetin, Van Gogh copied even some of his works, trying to find a creative impetus that would allow him to go beyond an academic perspective of painting.