Portraits

A Look at Others

Vincent van Gogh rarely had the opportunity to freely choose his models. As he was often considered a social outcast, many contemporaries were unwilling to be portrayed by him. As a result, he frequently painted acquaintances or friends. The family of the postman Joseph Roulin, who was friends with Van Gogh, is represented three times on this wall.

Portraits accompanied Van Gogh throughout all phases of his work. The selection shown here is predominantly from the last two years of his life and demonstrates the speed of his artistic development. The painting ‘Two Little Girls’ was created about a month before his death. Here, Van Gogh went beyond mere representation and tried to capture the essence of the figures. The painting shows Van Gogh’s flamboyant, final style. In contrast, the portrait of Alexander Reid is from the Paris period around 1887. The engagement with other artistic styles is still clearly recognizable here.