Vincent Van Gogh in Paris

Dutch post-impressionist painter Vincent Willem van Gogh (1853-1890) painted three portraits of his paint supplier, Julien Tanguy (1825-1894). One of the portraits is ‘Père Tanguy’ (1887), which French sculptor Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) bought.

In the portrait bought by Rodin, Tanguy is shown wearing Breton clothes and sitting in front of a wall with Japanese prints. The bright colours, flat perspective, and treatment of light are characteristic of Van Gogh, whom Rodin viewed as ‘an admirable demolisher of academic formulae.’

The other painting shown here is ‘The Harvesters’ (1888).

Both paintings were bought by Rodin in 1916.

MARTINA NICOLLSis an international aid and development consultant, and the authorof:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom(2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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