There are at least 9 portraits made of the Postman Joseph Roulin, and 17 of his family. The Postman became one of his Van Gogh’s favorite sitters in the French town of Arles. Van Gogh wrote to his brother about him:
“I am now at work with another model, a postman in a blue uniform, trimmed with gold, a big bearded face, very like Socrates.”
Van Gogh compared Roulin to Socrates on many occasions. He described him as “such a good soul and so wise and so full of feeling and so trustful.”
Postman Joseph Roulin, 1888
Van Gogh loved to paint portraits but models were difficult to afford. Joseph Roulin, his wife, and his children all agreed to several sittings, so Van Gogh created 23 paintings of the Postman and his family between 1888-1889.
After her husband had posed several times for van Gogh, Augustine sat for both van Gogh and Paul Gauguin in the house the two men shared. During the sitting, she kept her gaze on Gauguin, possibly because she was not comfortable in the presence of van Gogh.
The Mother or Portrait of Madame Augustine Roulin, Nov–Dec 1888
Van Gogh created several works while Augustine rocked her cradle by a string. Van Gogh titled the group of paintings La Berceuse which means “lullaby” or “the woman rocking the cradle.”
Armand Roulin, their eldest son, lived from 1871 – 1945. He was 17 when painted by van Gogh.At the time the paintings were made Armand had left his parents’ home, working as a blacksmith’s apprentice.
Portrait of Armand Roulin, 1888
Portrait of Armand Roulin, 1888
Young Man with a Cap (Armand Roulin), 1888
Camille Roulin, the middle child, lived from 1877 – 1922. He was eleven when his portrait was painted.
Portrait of Camille Roulin, 1888, Oil on Canvas, 40.5 X 32.5 cm
Portrait of Camille Roulin, 1888
he Schoolboy with Uniform Cap (Camille Roulin), early December, 1888
Marcelle Roulin, the youngest child lived for 100 years, from 1888 to 1980! She was four months old when van Gogh painted her. She was painted three times by herself and twice on her mother’s lap.
Portrait of Marcelle Roulin, 1888, Oil on Canvas, 35 X 24.5 cm
Portrait of Marcelle Roulin, 1888
Roulin’s Baby, 1888
Portrait of Madame Augustine Roulin and Baby Marcelle, 1888
Exquisite Corpse is a collaborative, chance-based drawing game invented by the Surrealists in the mid 1920s. Each participant draws or collages an image on part of a sheet of paper, folds the paper to conceal their work, and passes it on to the next player for their contribution. This is the first week in a …
I found some lovely masterwork studies drawn by Fran O’Neill, but she didn’t list the paintings they were drawn from. I figured I’d make a game of it. Be the first to identify the artist and title of one of these masterwork paintings and win $50 towards a class. Fran O’Neill is teaching a landscape …
Designed by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, the Statue of Liberty is in the Neoclassical style. Neoclassical figures generally convey a sense of calm and restraint. Emotional expression is often subdued, reflecting the stoicism and rationality associated with classical Greek and Roman ideals. When viewed from below, the Statue of Liberty has a different expression than when …
Feet in blanket, drypoint and embossed chine-collé on 14×11″ Rives gray BFK. (The color is a little dark and dull in this photo, because the paper was still wet) An accidental print resulted in some body-less feet at the bottom of the page, and Nikki had a brilliant idea to add chine-collé to the empty …
Van Gogh: The Postman and his Family
There are at least 9 portraits made of the Postman Joseph Roulin, and 17 of his family. The Postman became one of his Van Gogh’s favorite sitters in the French town of Arles. Van Gogh wrote to his brother about him:
“I am now at work with another model, a postman in a blue uniform, trimmed with gold, a big bearded face, very like Socrates.”
Van Gogh compared Roulin to Socrates on many occasions. He described him as “such a good soul and so wise and so full of feeling and so trustful.”
Van Gogh loved to paint portraits but models were difficult to afford. Joseph Roulin, his wife, and his children all agreed to several sittings, so Van Gogh created 23 paintings of the Postman and his family between 1888-1889.
After her husband had posed several times for van Gogh, Augustine sat for both van Gogh and Paul Gauguin in the house the two men shared. During the sitting, she kept her gaze on Gauguin, possibly because she was not comfortable in the presence of van Gogh.
Van Gogh created several works while Augustine rocked her cradle by a string. Van Gogh titled the group of paintings La Berceuse which means “lullaby” or “the woman rocking the cradle.”
Armand Roulin, their eldest son, lived from 1871 – 1945. He was 17 when painted by van Gogh. At the time the paintings were made Armand had left his parents’ home, working as a blacksmith’s apprentice.
Camille Roulin, the middle child, lived from 1877 – 1922. He was eleven when his portrait was painted.
Marcelle Roulin, the youngest child lived for 100 years, from 1888 to 1980! She was four months old when van Gogh painted her. She was painted three times by herself and twice on her mother’s lap.
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