Van Gogh revisited (16)

This is the 16th in a series on Vincent van Gogh’s works that are featured on display at the exhibition titled “Van Gogh in Paris: a Dialogue with Modernism” at Seoul Arts Center. ― ED.

One of the most eye-catching works in this van Gogh exhibit is "Pere Tanguy" (1887) from the Rodin Museum in Paris because of its complementary use of colors and swift brushstrokes.

This is one of three paintings by van Gogh using Julien Tanguy as the model; Tanguy was an art supplier and dealer who had a shop at 14 Rue Clauzel, Montmarte, Paris.

Van Gogh tried to capture the dealer's kind nature by using bright colors that contrasted with the background. He set up a collection of Japanese prints, or ukiyoe, in the background as if Tanguy was a sage from the East.

The brushstrokes are influenced by post-impressionism, but van Gogh adopted his own style, more refined from previous experiments.

Van Gogh gave paintings to Tanguy as payment for paints, and this one was sold to sculptor Auguste Rodin by Tanguy's daughter and is now a part of the Rodin Museum's permanent collection.